Man accused of threatening Muslim officer faces hate charge

NEW YORK (AP) - A man accused of threatening an off-duty Muslim police officer previously commended for heroism is facing a hate-crime charge.

The Brooklyn district attorney's office says 36-year-old Christopher Nelson was arraigned Monday on a felony charge of menacing as a hate crime.

Authorities say the officer, who was wearing a Muslim head covering, encountered a man yelling and pushing her 16-year-old son on Saturday evening in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. When she intervened, the man referenced the Islamic State group and threatened to slit her throat.

City officials hailed Officer Aml Elsokary (ah-MEHL' ehl-soh-KAHR'-ee) as a hero in 2014, after she ran into a burning building to save a baby.

The defendant's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.