The NYPD detective who was dancing in viral music video pulled from active cases in sex crimes unit has the internet talking — and not just for her moves. According to a report from The Post, Detective Melissa Mercado, a seven-year veteran of the NYPD, is now stepping back from her role in the Special Victims Division after a clip of her twerking in a thong went viral.
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Word on the street is, the NYPD’s Special Victims Division — the unit that handles sensitive cases involving sex crimes — won’t be seeing Mercado on any active investigations for the time being. A spokesperson told The Post that while she hasn’t been formally disciplined yet, she’s been pulled off those specific duties.
Now, let’s be real — the internet moves fast, but the fallout from a viral moment can hit even faster. The clip in question was from the music video “Doin That” by Long Island rapper S-Quire, directed by Pitch Perfect. In it, Mercado is seen confidently owning her moment on screen, not knowing it would turn into a full-blown conversation about professionalism, image, and identity in law enforcement.
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According to TMZ, Pitch Perfect, the video’s director, said he and S-Quire casted Mercado through an agency and had “no clue she was NYPD.” That adds a whole new layer to the situation — because if they didn’t know, it clearly wasn’t a planned “shock value” moment.
Now everybody’s asking the same question — did she break any rules? The department hasn’t confirmed whether she violated specific policies, but let’s be honest: the backlash feels like it’s more about optics than ethics. People in power want to control how authority figures present themselves — even off the clock.
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This whole situation has sparked a real convo in the culture: can a woman own her sexuality and still be taken seriously in her profession? Especially a Black or Latina woman in a male-dominated system?
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Whether or not Mercado returns to active cases in the Special Victims Division, one thing’s for sure — this moment exposed the deep double standards that still exist in both law enforcement and society. Can women be both professional and expressive? Do Black and brown women have to tone themselves down just to be respected in their fields?
That’s a conversation we need to keep having — not just when things go viral, but every day.
The department’s next move might be to quietly move on from the situation, but the culture shift this moment sparked isn’t going anywhere.
