You just disrespected yourself, your badge, and the Baltimore Police Department way more than any punk kid. Dude.
Did you catch the veiled death threat from the dude officer? And the way it ends is the best. "Is that camera on? If I find myself on - *click*".
Hat tip to Mr. Balko.
UPDATE 1: Apparently, the cop has been suspended, but I'm sure he'll be back on the force in no time once the review board finds that "official procedures were followed." And listen to the police union guy:
Paul Blair, head of the police union, had not seen the video but cautioned that videos show only a slice of a story. He noted that it is impossible to know what happened before or after the camera was turned on.
I'd like to know, Mr. Blair: what could possibly have happened before the camera came on that would have excused such behavior on the part of the officer? No, really, your wildest fantasy - give me a scenario where it would have served the BPD to have that dude act like that. And this is great:
Clifford said the boy never made an official complaint to the Police Department and that Rivieri has no other citizen complaints in his file.
That's the excuse I love from police departments. If you don't make a complaint, it didn't happen. You have to jump through their hoops after they physically and verbally assault you, just so they can have a chance to get their story straight before they dismiss you utterly. No, no - I think YouTube is far superior.
UPDATE 2: In the comments below, John alerts readers to another video of Rivieri out of control. Thanks, John!
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