One of New York’s Finest will spend as many as seven years behind bars after a jury convicted him of brutally beating another man with his gun and handcuffs during a fit of road rage in Midwood last year.
Jurors on Tuesday found Officer Michael Baror guilty of felony assault, weapons-possession, and other charges, according to Brooklyn’s top prosecutor, who called the cop’s behavior especially egregious given his mandate to serve and protect locals.
“The fact that he is a trained police officer makes his behavior even more disturbing,” said Eric Gonzalez. “There is no place on our streets for road rage, and now a jury has held the defendant accountable for his brazen criminal conduct.”
Baror was off duty and behind the wheel of his personal Jeep Cherokee equipped with illegal lights and sirens on New Year’s Day in 2018, when he began flashing his high beams at another car before rear-ending it at the corner of Avenue N and Bedford Avenue around 10:30 pm, according to prosecutors.
The cop got out of his car, pulled out his pistol, and hit the other driver with it, before repeatedly striking the 29-year-old man in the face with his handcuffs, then driving off, Gonzalez said.
But the victim gave chase, speeding after Baror as each ran multiple red lights while the man’s girlfriend called 911 amid the pursuit, which ended when the two cars collided and Baror fled before police arrived, according to prosecutors.
Following the incident, the victim received stitches for wounds on his mouth, and treatment for bruising and a contusion on his head, as well as for cuts and an injured shoulder. And authorities caught up with Baror the next day, cuffing him on Jan. 2, and issuing him a 30-day suspension before placing him on modified duty.
Baror, who formerly patrolled Transit District 32 in Crown Heights, is currently out on bail and suspended from the force without pay, according to Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Jessica McRorie.
The cop lives in Brooklyn, according to officials, who refused to specify what neighborhood he resides in because he is still with the Police Department.
Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun is set to sentence the cop — whom jurors also convicted of reckless driving, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, improper display of plates, and improper use of a siren — on May 8.
