Boston cop convicted of racially-motivated assault on Uber driver

BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston police officer was convicted Monday of a racially-motivated assault on an Uber driver and of driving away in the vehicle of a second driver who intervened on his behalf, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley announced.

Jurors convicted Michael Doherty, 43, of two counts of assault and battery for striking the driver, a 28-year-old Revere man who was working on Jan. 4, 2015.

Doherty, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was also convicted of assault and battery for purposes of intimidation, reflecting his use of racial and ethnic slurs during the confrontation.

“The defendant’s conduct that night was reprehensible,” Conley said. “His words and actions have no place in civilized society. They represented a crime against the victims, who were doing nothing more than trying to work for a living, and they were a slap in the face to countless police officers who work hard every day to earn the community’s trust with honor and professionalism. Racially-motivated violence by anyone, sworn or civilian, will be investigated and prosecuted, and no one should ever be afraid to report it.”

During the trial, prosecutors introduced evidence and testimony proving that Doherty took an Uber from Charlestown to South Boston, where he told the driver they were in the wrong location and used a racial epithet in the verbal exchange that followed. The evidence proved that Doherty struck the victim, who exited the vehicle to escape the assault.

Prosecutors said as the victim flagged down a passing car driven by another Uber driver, Doherty entered the victim’s Toyota Prius and drove away. The victim entered the second Uber and the two men followed Doherty until he stopped and exited the vehicle. Doherty then continued to use racial and ethnic slurs in a second physical confrontation.

Doherty later turned himself into police after fleeing the scene. He faces sentencing on April 17.

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