UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Russia rejected a U.S. request to waive the immunity of a diplomat accused of hitting a New York City police officer while driving drunk and sent him back to Moscow instead, officials said Wednesday.

The United Nations diplomat, Ilya Morozov, returned home Tuesday evening, just hours after the U.S. sent a letter formally asking that his diplomatic immunity be waived so he could face felony charges, the United States and Russia said.

Russian mission spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that Russia never received any official documentation about the incident and had no choice but to send Morozov home in the face of the U.S. request. She said the mission would consider looking at the situation again once it gets that information.

The incident occurred Saturday night, when, police said, Morozov’ car hit an officer after swerving around traffic cones set up for construction on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, the main highway running down the east side of Manhattan.

The officer, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries to his knees and was in stable condition, police said. Morozov was issued seven traffic tickets accusing him of violations that included speeding, driving drunk and driving on a sidewalk.

Russia acknowledged that Morozov’s car entered the construction area but said it never saw any official evidence to show that the officer had been hit.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the United States would have preferred that Morozov be prosecuted but acknowledged Moscow’s right not to waive his immunity. Bolton said the U.S. would have demanded he be sent home anyway.

“It’s not as good as prosecution, but it would be significant in that he couldn’t come back to the United States,” Bolton said. “Although they weren’t prepared to waive diplomatic immunity, they know that we were serious and we would have expelled him.”