EXCLUSIVE: ‘No nonsense’ cop Raptor 13 is ‘pulled off the road and placed on restricted duties’ – as thousands sign petition calling for his sacking after Muslim car stop video ‘misconduct’
- Raptor 13 has been pulled off the road by his NSW Police Force commanders
- Senior Constable Andrew Murphy was put on restricted duties earlier this year
- Mr Murphy is yet to be formally disciplined over Muslim women traffic stop
- Police watchdog said his abuse of the women in April was ‘serious misconduct’
- Sources said he was put on restricted duties because of threats against him
Pulled off the road and placed on ‘restricted duties’: Bikie-busting cop Andrew ‘Raptor 13’ Murphy
Raptor 13 – the ‘no nonsense’ police officer recently slammed for ‘serious misconduct’ over a road stop of two Muslim women – has been pulled off the road by his commanders.
NSW Police Force Senior Constable Andrew Murphy was placed on restricted duties earlier this year and is no longer working ‘out on the road’.
Viral videos of Mr Murphy’s confrontations have made him a cult figure, but a video released by the police watchdog recently has sparked growing calls for his sacking.
Daily Mail Australia was told the Sydney police officer has been ‘on leave’ from his regular role as part of the Force’s bikie-busting squad for ‘months’.
But police sources said he had been placed on ‘restricted duties’ due to threats against him, rather than the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) probe.
A NSW Police Force spokeswoman said: ‘Since earlier this year, the officer has been performing appropriate restricted duties.’
More than 20,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Mr Murphy’s termination, with calls escalating after a LECC report was released last week.
The LECC said Mr Murphy had threatened and abused two Afghan women after pulling them over in Parramatta on April 20 because of an unbuckled seatbelt.
In video, released by the commission, Mr Murphy berates the hijab-wearing P-plate driver, 24, as ‘the most stupidest person’.
He also bizarrely threatens to charge the driver ‘as an accessory to bloody murder’ and to arrange for her passenger – a new migrant – to go ‘back to jail’.
Mr Murphy told the police watchdog investigators that he was ‘not proud of’ his ‘stupidest person’ comment.
He denied that his behaviour was because the women were Muslim.
But he conceded his carry-on may have seemed ‘racially motivated’ to the women or passersby.
One of Raptor 13’s first viral incidents occurred when he waved a metal pole at a member of the public’s head
Two of the many tense standoffs involving Raptor 13 which have gone viral: Left, he inspects a motorbike. On right, he confronts a ‘veteran’ in an angry stoush
But it was this incident with two Afghan women which drew the attention of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), finding him of ‘serious misconduct’
The LECC recommended Mr Murphy be disciplined under s127 of the Police Act 1990 and described his actions as ‘serious misconduct’.
But punishment is still outstanding, and he may not have much to worry about, with a former cop saying LECC’s recommendation is for a ‘slap on the wrist’.
Mr Murphy is still said to be performing ‘operational duties’ and has been seen recently at court in his full police uniform.
But he is unlikely to be in a position to repeat some of his previous antics, such as going toe-to-toe with mourners going to a Comanchero kingpin’s funeral; brandishing a metal pole at a member of the public’s head or throwing a driver’s licence on the ground.
Raptor 13’s antics revealed as police confirm he has been ‘pulled off the road and placed on restricted duties’
Raptor 13 is part of an anti-gang squad which targets outlaw motorcycle groups using unconventional tactics. It is his squad name
Senior Constable Andrew Murphy first caught the interest of the public about two years ago when videos of his stand-offs with members of the public went viral on social media.
The hard-nosed officer is part of an anti-gang police enforcement squad named Strike Force Raptor, which targets outlaw motorcycle groups and uses unconventional tactics.
He sparked headlines for confronting mourners on their way to the burial of slain Comanchero boss Mick Hawi, waving a metal pole near a man’s head and getting in an elderly man’s face.
‘Move it … I’m not asking, I’m telling you,’ he is heard telling the man in a viral video.
Mr Murphy has been praised on talkback radio for his ‘no nonsense’ tactics – and videos circulating through Facebook show he rarely backs down in tense stand-offs.
But he has also become a hate figure and the target of vile online abuse, including rape and death threats.