The off-duty NYPD policewoman allegedly threatened by a man in Brooklyn because of her faith spoke out during a news conference Monday.
Officer Aml Elsokary says the incident happened Saturday night, when she says she saw 36-year-old Christopher Nelson yelling and pushing her son on Ridge Boulevard and 67th Street in Bay Ridge.Police say Nelson then accused Elsokary of being part of the Islamic State and threatened to slit her throat. He told her to "go back to your country," then ran off. Sources say she was wearing a hijab at the time, and did not identify herself as an off-duty police officer.
During the news conference, Elsokary spoke publicly about her desire to be a cop.
"I became a police officer to show the positive side of a New Yorker, a Muslim woman that can do this job," said Elsokary. "That is nonbiased, that I help everybody no matter what's your religion."
"I was sick to my stomach when I heard one of our officers was subjected to threats and taunting, simply because of her faith," said Mayor de Blasio.
In 2014, de Blasio recognized Elsokary as a hero after she rushed into a burning building to save an elderly woman and a baby.
Nelson is charged with menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.