Veteran NYPD officer Michael Daragjati pled guilty Tuesday to falsely arresting a Black man in violation of federal civil rights laws.

The NYPD formally terminated Daragjati from the force following the plea, after he agreed not to challenge his termination or ever seek work in law enforcement again. Daragjati has not yet been sentenced but he faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

"The reason why he pleaded guilty today is he because he wants to put this matter behind him," attorney Don Fischetti said Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The case stemmed from an April arrest where Daragjati, 32, stopped and frisked a 31-year-old Black man in the Stapleton neighborhood of Staten Island, New York. After no weapons or contraband were found on the man, he allegedly complained about his treatment and was peacefully arrested by Daragjati, who reported that the man resisted arrest by shoving and kicking the officer.

In addition to the falsified report, Daragjati allegedly told his supervisor that it took four officers to subdue the man during the ordeal. Later, during a call to a female friend, Daragjati allegedly recounted the incident by saying, “Another n----- fried, no big deal."

“The defendant criminally abused the immense authority and public trust conferred on him by his status as a police officer,” United States Attorney Lynch said of Daragjati. “Hiding behind his badge, he subjected his victims to false arrest, imprisonment and threats of violence. He has been held to account for his criminal acts and will not have the opportunity to repeat them.”

New York’s controversial “stop and frisk policy” has long raised concerns of racial profiling and privacy rights by advocates who blame the practice for the large number of Blacks and Latinos arrested in the city each year. The policy allows officers to question and frisk (or pat down) anyone they deem suspicious, without a warrant.

In light of Daragjati's case another man came forward in October and informed the media that he too was falsely arrested by the officer.

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(Photo: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)