What do you guys think of this?

[slocar]

[CPDlife4ME]

Don't skateboard where you shouldn't skateboard. That's all I'm going to say.




btw. I thought it was pretty funny that the video cut out as the officer was saying "If I find myself on You"... lol

[LilaD]

You know what's funny? When kids are little, they look up to officers. When they reach pre-teens, they think they're jerks. Then it gets worse. Some grow out of that 'fight against authority' stage and learn to respect those who wear the badge. Some don't.

The lip the kid was giving was showing absolute disrespect. I'm not saying I agree with the physical handling of the boy, but his mouth should've been shut and 'Yes, sir' 'No, sir' would've been the appropriate responses. But kids aren't really taught that anymore. Heck, even adults don't do it much anymore.

[acreature]

Officer was out of line. Regardless of the kid's attitude.... Threatening him was not kosher. He should take a break.



Though, I may have been short tempered to if I had to sport his ride. j/k :D

[Creeker]

...Though, I may have been short tempered to if I had to sport his ride. j/k :D

:D
I was just thinking he might have been overcompensating for riding in a kiddie car and wearing a clown looking uniform....

[mxwelch]

Officer was out of line. Regardless of the kid's attitude.... Threatening him was not kosher. He should take a break.



Though, I may have been short tempered to if I had to sport his ride. j/k :D

Out of line, however I can understand his frustration and I don't even deal with it on a daily basis. The kids nowadays are usually punks. Not taught an ounce of respect or responsiblity. No wonder the democrats are taking over.:rolleyes:

[Hockey9019]

Are you fron the county or something?!?

That was good :D


Yeah it was out of line on his part, but I'll bet you that them kids will turn out to be good outstanding citizens (and maybe get a haircut?)

As the priors, knowing you had to ride around in a vehicle like that and nobody would take you serious...well...

[Hockey9019]

News story:


A Baltimore police officer was suspended Monday after a YouTube video surfaced on the Internet showing him berating and manhandling a teenage skateboarder at the Inner Harbor.

On the video, the officer, Salvatore Rivieri, 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."

Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department and the mayor's office, said authorities have begun an internal-affairs investigation.

"The entire incident raised red flags for all of the members of the command staff who watched the video," Clifford said.

He said Monday afternoon that Mayor Sheila Dixon had not seen the video, which appears to have been shot last summer, but that its contents had been described to her and that she was "very displeased."

"We have invested a lot of time and energy in having better relations between the community and the police," Clifford said. "The bad behavior of one police officer can jeopardize a lot of hard work."

Reached at home Sunday, Rivieri said he was not aware that the incident had been recorded or posted to a public Web site. He acknowledged having encounters with skateboarders at the Inner Harbor last summer and told a reporter that he would review the video on YouTube.

"These kids, they've got nothing better to do," Rivieri said.

Monday, after being suspended, Rivieri said, "I have no comment. Thank you."

Attempts to e-mail the person who posted the video were unsuccessful. Police said they do not know the identity of the youth involved or who shot the video.

Clifford said the department has tried to e-mail, through YouTube, the person who posted the video and is contacting area schools in an attempt to find the boy.

Skateboarding is not permitted in the Inner Harbor.

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.

The video came to the attention of the police after a Sun reporter e-mailed the link to the police Sunday morning seeking comment.

The video was posted on YouTube on Saturday but probably made late last summer, according to the Police Department.

The 3 1/2-minute video shows Rivieri walking toward a group of boys, one of whom is holding a skateboard. The boy says he did not hear an order that the officer had given him before the video starts.

"Take the earplugs out of your ears. Can you hear me now? Hey, I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?" Rivieri says.

Rivieri tells the boy he is not allowed to use his skateboard.

"OK, I didn't hear you," the boy says.

"Don't get defensive with me," Rivieri says. "You backed off me. I'm not your father. You hear me. I'm not your father. You give that attitude to your father. You give it to me and I'll smack you."

One boy says, "I don't have a father."

"Shut your mouth, I'm talking," Rivieri says.

One boy repeatedly uses the word dude when addressing Rivieri, and the word becomes a point of contention.

"Sit down. I'm not a dude," Rivieri says. He then pushes a boy to the ground and walks away with his skateboard.

"Dude, don't take my skateboard. I didn't do anything, dude," the boy says.

Rivieri replies: "If you call me dude one more time. Are you from the county or something?"

The officer's tone becomes increasingly harsh.

The boy, who says on the video that he is 14, says he wants to call his mother, and later the officer asks to speak with her. It is unclear whether that conversation took place.

The person who made the video does not talk and is never identified, though at one point Rivieri addresses the person with the camera, saying, "You got that camera on? If I find myself on..." The video cuts off before Rivieri finishes his sentence.

Clifford said the boy never made an official complaint to the Police Department and that Rivieri has no other citizen complaints in his file.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...0.story?page=1

[Valor55]

How much body language and smart mouthing took place before the video took place? How many times that day were they told to leave and didn't?

The only problem I have is if you are going to put your hands on someone and force them to the ground there better be some kind of charges coming out of it and they better be wearing bracelets.

[gringoscott]

The uniform looks a lot like what our transit Wackenhut security guys wear out here. But they're pretty useless.

I don't like skater punks, but I look really mean, so they usually take off when they see me coming up to them. I dunno.

Cool ride though.

[LilaD]

Funny how the article doesn't mention the tone of the kid. I mean, I guess that's what writers, not journalists do, which is put in more detail to the readers can get an idea of the scene. And I really don't care for how they desensitize the use of 'dude'. I'm sorry, but if I ever heard my kid call an officer dude or man, I'd probably give a slap on the back of their head and tell them to show more respect.

Yeah, I was shocked at some of the things the officer said to the kid, and the manhandling, but let's try not to make the kid look all that innocent. Aren't signs usually posted where skateboarding isn't allowed?

And they have the boy's name, why not (the police) contact him and find out who took the video?

[magicman]

That reminded me of Farva and the school bus incident

[acreature]

And I really don't care for how they desensitize the use of 'dude'.

It's a Word. Most of us in Uniform are Adults and should've learned, and should understand the Childhood Rhyme.

[magicman]

I'd be happy if someone called me dude. Usually it's just "dawg" or "f=ing pig".

[Question]

I have three questions that some may be able to answer:

1. Based on this video, did the officer objectively violate police policy or law?

2. Do incidents like these make you disaffected to actually help those at-risk?

3. Is it true that no good deed goes unpunished?

I personally believe the officer was trying to make a difference in a kid's life.