The NYPD detective who went viral after she appeared in a racy hip-hop video of her gyrating and twerking on a stripper pole has been removed from the Bronx Special Victims squad she’d been assigned to, the Daily News has learned.
Det. Melissa Mercado was reassigned to the 50th Precinct in Kingsbridge near the Westchester border on March 14, about a week after her involvement in rapper S-Quire’s video “Doin that” was exposed, her department profile confirmed.
As of Friday, the video had been viewed more than two million times on YouTube.
Mercado, a third-grade detective, was assigned to the elite Bronx Special Victims Squad, which investigates sex assaults throughout the borough when news broke about her video. An email to the NYPD for comment about the transfer was not immediately returned.
The 50th Precinct was Mercado’s first command after she joined the department in 2018, according to her department profile. In her seven-year career with the department, Mercado has been credited with 54 felony and 81 misdemeanor arrests and in 2022 received an award for excellent police duty.
While she filmed the video on her own time, sources with knowledge of the case said cops were investigating whether she filed the appropriate department paperwork to get permission to do the video and whether the department authorized the request before she stripped down.
After news of the video surfaced, Mercado was removed from active special victims cases while the NYPD determined whether she violated department regulations.
NYPD rank-and-file officers said the sexually-charged video, which shows Mercado being objectified as she danced in a black bra, G-string and glitter boots for dollar bills, was a bad look for the department and the detective, who investigated sex assault and rape cases.
“Doin That” director Pitch Perfect said Mercado tried out for the video through a modeling agency.
With her future in the department in possible jeopardy, Pitch Perfect told TMZ that Mercado may have a future in the hip-hop world.
“I’ve got tons of artists reaching out, trying to get her in their video,” Pitch Perfect said. “If you look at it like that, I think it might be a great thing for her. I think she wins.”
