Baltimore police officer Salvatore Rivieri was suspended yesterday after a YouTube video turned up showing him roughing up a teenage skateboarder. The unknown boy, who claimed to be 14, was apparently skateboarding in a no-skateboarding zone. The police department has launched an internal-affairs investigation into the incident. From the Baltimore Sun:
On the video, the officer… puts the boy in a headlock, pushes him to the ground, questions his upbringing, threatens to "smack" him and repeatedly accuses the youngster of showing disrespect because the youth refers to the officer as "man" and "dude."
At one point, Rivieri, a 17-year veteran of the force, says:
"Obviously, your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough, because you don't understand the meaning of respect. First of all, you better learn how to speak. I'm not 'man.' I'm not 'dude,' I am Officer Rivieri. The sooner you learn that, the longer you are going to live in this world. Because you go around doing this kind of stuff and somebody is going to kill you."
Link to Baltimore Sun,
Link to YouTube video
