Baltimore Officer Suspended When Video Of Him Berating And Assaulting Child Skateboarders Surfaces On YouTube

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Published on Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Written by Melissa Underwood, Fox News

The Baltimore Police Department suspended a police officer after a video surfaced on the Internet showing the officer berating two kids for skateboarding, putting one of them in a headlock, and pushing the boy on the concrete.

The video shows Officer Salvatore Rivieri approach the kids at the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, the area where they apparently were skateboarding. The kids tell Rivieri they didn't know they couldn't skateboard there.

"You back-talk me, I'm not your father," Rivieri says. "You hear me? I'm not your father. You give that attitude to your father. You give it to me, I'll smack you upside the head. Shut your mouth, I'm talking."

Rivieri was suspended until an internal investigation is complete, Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, told FOX News.

"Obviously there is behavior there that raised concerns," Clifford said."It's not behavior that"s acceptable and encouraged within the police department.

In the video, after Rivieri pushes the kid on the ground, he takes his skateboard and puts it in his patrol vehicle.

When he returns, he points his finger in the kid's face.

"Obviously your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough because you don't understand the meaning of respect," Rivieri says. "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're going to live in this world. Because you go around doing this kind of stuff, somebody's going to kill you."

The kid repeatedly tells Rivieri that he "didn't do anything," saying he wants to call his mom.

Phone calls seeking comment from the police union were not immediately returned.

The video, from last July, surfaced on the Internet recently. Clifford said a member of the media e-mailed the clip to the police department late Sunday.

Rivieri is confined to administrative work on his suspension with pay.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said she was disappointed after watching the video, Clifford said.

"We've invested a lot of time and effort and energy trying to build a stronger relationship between the citizens of Baltimore and the police department," Clifford said. "An incident like this obviously has the potential to undo this work."

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