Brooklyn Hospital Denies Medical Treatment for NYPD Detectives
by David Hawkins
NYPD detectives say they were treated with hostility and suspicion at a Brooklyn hospital after seeking emergency medical care for an on-the-job injury, an incident that has sparked backlash from police unions and renewed scrutiny of the city’s increasingly hostile political climate toward law enforcement.
According to police officials, the detectives went to NYU Langone Health in the Cobble Hill neighborhood after one detective suffered a minor injury in the line of duty during a scuffle with a suspect.
The detectives were in plainclothes and identified themselves as NYPD, explaining the reason for their visit.
Despite that, sources told Eyewitness News that hospital security questioned their identities, detained them, and initially refused entry to one detective because he was carrying his service weapon.
Union leaders were quick to condemn the encounter.
“No individual—especially NYPD Detectives injured in the line of duty—should ever be subjected to such treatment,” the detectives’ union said in a statement.
The detectives, who were not publicly identified, believe hospital staff may have mistaken them for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and attempted to turn them away.
ICE agents often wear tactical gear marked “Police,” while NYPD detectives, though frequently in plainclothes, carry gold shields identifying them as sworn officers.
The episode unfolded amid rising political tensions surrounding immigration enforcement in New York City and increasingly aggressive rhetoric targeting ICE and law enforcement more broadly.
Appearing on The View earlier this week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani openly called for ICE to be abolished.
“We’re seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead, what it’s doing is terrorizing people no matter their immigration status,” Mamdani said.
When asked about the hospital incident the following day, the mayor said he had not been aware of it.