A late night traffic stop near Yankee Stadium has exploded into a high stakes misconduct probe after a Bronx woman accused an on duty NYPD officer of sexually abusing her in the back seat of her own car while she says he ordered her to keep driving. She alleges the encounter started on May 23 and continued at the 44th Precinct, and her attorney says she has now taken formal legal steps. The NYPD has opened a departmental investigation and is reviewing video the woman posted online.
What she says happened
The woman, identified in news coverage as Pamelys Aquino, shared a video clip that she says shows parts of the encounter, along with photos of the officer’s vest and gunbelt. She and her lawyer say it all began around 12:45 a.m. on May 23, when she was pulled over near Yankee Stadium for what she was told was an illegal turn.
In the video and in her account, Aquino alleges the officer climbed into the back seat of her car, demanded a kiss, then exposed himself and masturbated while grabbing her, all while she was behind the wheel. Her attorney says a notice of claim - the first step toward a lawsuit - has already been filed. Those details come from Aquino’s own posting and subsequent news coverage, as reported by the New York Post.
Officer’s background and prior complaints
The officer named in reporting is Kristopher Recalde. Public payroll listings show a Kristopher Recalde on the NYPD’s rolls in recent years and identify him as a department member, according to GovSalaries.
A monthly report from the Civilian Complaint Review Board lists a Kristopher Recalde with a previously substantiated allegation in the Bronx involving failure to provide a RTKA or shield card, which resulted in command level discipline. Those public records provide the only documented background on his disciplinary history cited so far.
NYPD response and investigation
The NYPD told reporters the officer has been pulled off street duty and reassigned to a desk job while the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigates the allegation. Officials say they are reviewing the video Aquino posted, along with the events she described, as part of that probe, according to the New York Post.
Legal steps and what a notice of claim means
Aquino’s lawyer says a notice of claim was filed with the New York City comptroller’s office, a standard procedural move that often comes before a lawsuit against a city agency. Under New York law, most tort claims against a public corporation require a notice of claim to be served within 90 days of the incident, and the statute spells out what that filing has to include. You can read the specifics in state law at the New York State Senate.
What to watch next
Investigators are expected to scrutinize Aquino’s posted video along with any available footage from in and around the 44th Precinct, plus body worn camera recordings or radio logs tied to the stop. The Civilian Complaint Review Board has noted in its own data that cases with video evidence are far more likely to end in substantiated findings, which could make Aquino’s recording a key piece of the puzzle.
Next steps to watch: whether Internal Affairs refers the case to prosecutors, whether the CCRB opens its own investigation, and whether the officer’s union or the city comptroller’s office, which handles claims, weigh in publicly. For broader context on how video affects substantiation rates, see the CCRB’s monthly statistics in a report from the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
