Detective Melissa Mercado, a member of the , has recently found herself in the spotlight after a pole-dancing video featuring her went viral.

Who is Melissa Mercado?

Detective Melissa Mercado is a $144,000-a-year New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer who has been with the force for seven years, records show.

Mercado has been a Detective Grade 3—a middle-ranking position—at Bronx Special Victims Squad since January 2025.

She has recently come under scrutiny following her appearance in a music video that has since gone viral. Mercado’s involvement in the video has sparked a debate regarding the boundaries of personal expression for law enforcement officers.

The Viral Music Video Controversy

In the music video for the song “Doin’ That” by Hempstead rapper S-Quire, Mercado is seen performing pole-dancing routines in a strip club setting, dressed in a lacy black bra and thong. Throughout the video, she twerks around a pole, gives S-Quire a lap dance, and crawls on the floor while being showered with dollar bills. The lyrics of the song contain the lyrics, “A— is thick. Just want to smash it quick”, and “I like the way she doin’ that, the way she sliding up the pole.”

Mercado’s participation in the video remained largely unnoticed until it garnered significant attention online, amassing over 1.5 million views in a month.

Rapper S-Quire, whose real name is Phavian Winfield, said he was unaware of Mercado’s profession during the video’s production and was “shocked.”

“I didn’t know what she did for a living,” he told DailyMail.com. ‘She doesn’t seem like a detective. When you think of detectives, you think of Special Victims Unit on the TV.’

“This is interesting. I’m kind of blown away,” he added. “I don’t know what to say about Honeybee at this point. Ah, Honeybee, Honeybee, Honeybee.”

Potential Consequences and Past Precedents

As of now, neither Mercado nor the NYPD have issued official statements regarding the incident. Regalrumination.com has reached out to the NYPD for comment. It remains unclear whether she will face any disciplinary action.

The music video has no connection to Mercado’s role as a detective, as she does not wear NYPD paraphernalia or anything linking her to the department. While officers are required to file an off-duty employment form if they perform for money, her actions could be considered personal, which would not fall under department oversight.

This is not the first time an NYPD officer’s off-duty behavior has attracted public attention. In 2021, a police officer responding to a noise complaint at a party was and eat tacos.

In 2022, officer Vera Mekuli made headlines after being filmed grinding on top of her supervisor at a bar in the Bronx.