Courts and Civil Rights

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have indicted former NYPD patrol officers Justin McMillan, 26, and Justin Colon, 24, on charges of felony conspiracy against rights and willfully depriving an individual of her constitutional rights over a July 2024 incident at a Queens brothel. Authorities say the officers responded to a prostitution call, turned off their body cameras, took a key and cash from a woman leaving the building, then returned about eight hours later, unlocked the door, and confronted a woman engaged in sex with a man who fled. Prosecutors allege McMillan stole roughly $200 from the woman’s purse and groped her while Colon kept watch, after which the woman ran and called 911 and the officers went back to their precinct without reporting the encounter. The pair were previously charged in Queens state court with burglary, forcible touching and official misconduct, but that case was dismissed and sealed in December when the district attorney’s office blew state speedy‑trial deadlines, effectively forcing the feds to pick up a case local prosecutors fumbled. Both men had been suspended following their 2025 arrests and have since resigned; they are due to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court, with defense attorneys so far declining comment as civil‑rights advocates online point to the indictment as a rare second chance at accountability when procedural errors derail local cases involving alleged police abuse.