After detective Melissa Mercado went viral for dancing on a pole in a skimpy bra and thong, she was removed from the Special Victims Division. The NYPD detective’s risqué performance while showing off her curvaceous physique in a raunchy music video recently turned heads. While some of her colleagues in the force, as well as some of the viewers online, showed her support, twerking in the music video came with consequences.
Police sources told the New York Post that Mercado, who served in the NYPD for seven years, was removed from the division that investigates sex crimes. A spokesperson from NYPD told the media that Mercado’s behaviour in rapper S-Quire’s Doin That music video was under review. However, it is unclear if Mercado broke any rules.
According to the music video’s director, Pitch Perfect, he and the rapper were unaware of “what her main profession was,” TMZ reported. The director added that Mercado was hired through a casting agency.
The New York Post reported that Chief Michael Osgood, retired NYPD Special Victims Division, described the matter as “disturbing,” considering that a sex crimes investigator made a “video that’s degrading to women.” He expressed that her “conduct is unbecoming a police officer” and it was “wrong morally” as a detective of the Special Victims Division.
Osgood and lawyer Eric Sanders expressed that she should be penalised for her behaviour. Sanders, who described police work as a “noble profession,” expressed that her conduct was “inconsistent with the values of being a police officer,” per the report.
Meanwhile, Mercado has reportedly become a sought-after dancer in music videos since she twerked in S-Quire’s video. Pitch Perfect told TMZ that other rappers wanted to hire her.
“I’ve had tonnes of artists reach out trying to get her in their video,” Pitch Perfect said. He expressed that many people have been showering Mercado with compliments and added while laughing that this exposure in the entertainment industry “might be a great thing for her.” He described her as one of the stars in the music video, which has since amassed more than a million views.
