text: A veteran Boston police officer used racial slurs against an Uber driver — and a good Samaritan who came to the driver’s defense — during a vicious overnight attack in South Boston yesterday, authorities said, while the officer’s lawyer argued today in South Boston District Court the cop was the real “victim.” 
   
   Michael Doherty, 40 of South Boston, had a black eye and his left arm was in a sling as he faced charges of two counts of assault and battery while using a racial slur and using a motor vehicle without authority for briefly stealing the Uber driver’s car after yesterday’s 2:45 a.m. attack on the driver. 
   
   Suffolk Assistant Distict Attorney William Champlin said Doherty, who had hired an Uber car, became agitated at the driver while in South Boston because he thought he was in the wrong location. 
   
   According to Champlin, Doherty lashed out: “You think I’m stupid, you (expletive) (racial slur)?” . 
   
   A short time later, the Uber driver stopped near East 2nd and M streets, and Doherty began hitting him, Champlin said. The Uber driver got out of his car and was chased around it by Doherty, Champlin said. The Uber driver flagged down a good Samaritan for help and Doherty got into the Uber vehicle and took off, according to Champlin. The Uber driver got into the good Samaritan’s vehicle and they gave chase. 
   
   Doherty pulled over at East 1st Street and Farragut Road, and approached both the Uber driver and the good Samaritan, Champlin said. Doherty then addressed the good Samaritan with a racial slur and “began swinging at both parties,” according to Doherty’s arrest report. 
   
   Doherty fled the scene but turned himself in about 11 a.m. yesterday, Champlin said. 
   
   Doherty was released today on the $500 bail he already posted, ordered to refrain from drugs and alcohol and submit to random drug tests, ordered to be evaluated for drug dependency, ordered to stay away from victims and he was also banned from using Uber during his case. 
   
   Doherty’s lawyer Kenneth Anderson said his client disputes prosecutors’ account vigorously. 
   
   “He was really the victim in this matter and not the perpetrator,” Anderson said. “As you can see, he’s got a black eye. He’s got stitches over his eye. He has a torn bicep tendon.” 
   
   Boston police have said Doherty, a 16-year veteran, is on administrative leave and the department’s Anti-Corruption Unit is investigating the incident. 
   
   Anderson declined further comment after the arraignment. 
   
   He confirmed that Doherty’s ex-girlfriend, Mary Niland, 24, had a brief unrelated hearing in the same courtroom prior to Doherty’s arraignment. 
   
   In that hearing, Champlin amended a charge against Niland from unarmed burglary to breaking and entering during the night time with intent to commit a felony. Niland is accused of breaking into a South Boston residence about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 3. ||||| A veteran Boston police officer uttered racial slurs during an alleged assault of an Uber driver in South Boston early Sunday, according to a police report and a statement from the department. 
   
   Officer Michael Doherty, 40, of South Boston, a 16-year-veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave after his arrest on charges of assault and battery and of using a motor vehicle without authority, police said. 
   
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   He could not be reached for comment, and his union president did not return a call late Sunday. 
   
   According to a police statement, an Uber driver told officers at about 2:45 a.m. that a passenger, later identified as Doherty, had assaulted him. The driver also said Doherty repeatedly used racial slurs during the encounter, according to a police report obtained by the Globe. 
   
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   When the vehicle was on East Second Street, the driver reported, Doherty said they were in the wrong place and asked, “What, you think I’m stupid, you [expletive],” followed by a racist term for Latinos, the report said. 
   
   Doherty told the man to keep driving and began hitting him when he stopped at East Second and M Streets, prompting the driver to get out, according to the report. 
   
   The officer chased the driver around the vehicle, the report said, and the driver waved down motorists for help until a man stopped to offer assistance. At that point, Doherty got behind the wheel of the Uber vehicle and drove off, according to the police report. 
   
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   The Uber driver got into the assisting man’s car, and they followed Doherty, who exited the victim’s vehicle at East First Street and Farragut Road, the report said. 
   
   He walked toward the Uber driver and the man who provided help, who is black, and said, “What do you want, you [expletive],” and then used the n-word, the report said. 
   
   Doherty allegedly knocked the Uber driver to the ground and kept hitting him as the other man tried to pull Doherty off, the report said. Doherty walked away when police arrived but was later arrested. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in South Boston District Court. 
   
   Uber, the popular ride-sharing service, said in a statement that their thoughts were with the driver, adding that they have barred Doherty from using the service per company policy and “stand ready to assist law enforcement” in the investigation. 
   
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target: – A veteran Boston police officer is facing charges after he allegedly assaulted an Uber driver—but the cop says he was really the victim. According to a police report, Michael Doherty, 40, a veteran of 16 years, was riding in an Uber car early Sunday when he verbally accosted the driver, the Boston Globe reports. "What, you think I’m stupid, you [expletive]," Doherty reportedly said, using a racist term for Latinos. The driver claims Doherty began hitting him, believing he was being dropped off at the wrong place near East 2nd and M streets. When the driver jumped out, Doherty allegedly got behind the wheel and drove away. The driver says he flagged down a good Samaritan and got in his car in pursuit of Doherty. They approached the officer after he parked, at which point Doherty hurled the n-word at the Samaritan, knocked down the Uber driver, and punched him repeatedly, the report says. News reports have Doherty either being arrested or turning himself in, but either way, his lawyer says Doherty has a black eye, stitches over his eye, and a torn tendon, the Boston Herald reports. "He was really the victim in this matter and not the perpetrator," the attorney said in court. Doherty was placed on administrative leave as Boston police investigate. In an unrelated hearing in the same courtroom before Doherty's arraignment, an ex-girlfriend of his was charged with breaking and entering at a South Boston residence in November. (Also in Boston, an Uber driver has been accused of raping a passenger.)