Michael Daragjati, an eight-year veteran of the New York Police Department, pleads guilty to federal charges that he violated an African-American man's civil rights by arresting him on false charges, Tuesday. He was later heard using a racial slur to brag about the arrest by investigators who were recording him. Daragjati, who had been suspended without pay, was fired from the force, authorities said. He agreed not to oppose his termination and agreed never to seek work in law enforcement again. He faces a potential sentence of a year in jail and a $100,000 fine; a sentencing hearing has not been set. Daragjati stopped and frisked the man in New York City's Staten Island borough in April, and the man complained about his treatment after he was found not to be carrying any weapons or contraband, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn. Daragjati responded by arresting him and filing a report falsely claiming the man resisted arrest by flailing his arms and kicking, the complaint said. Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that Daragjati "criminally abused the immense authority and public trust conferred on him by his status as a police officer." "Hiding behind his badge, he subjected his victims to false arrest, imprisonment and threats of violence," she said.
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