I'll drink to that, LOL! But where did the NYPD get a "Hillbilly"? I suspect the author was toying with the word "redneck", but that wasn't working, either.
He also wrote the above quote, so I surmise that Sgt. Burton is large and Black or White and definitely pissed about what he has been reading from the press!
It could also be a lie, because a Sgt. would not usually dis-respect a true reporter that way and if the Sgt. suspected fake credentials he would have put the bag on the guy holding them and confiscated the papers, that is why I suspect the writer is a liar!!