Baltimore school police chief suspended after video shows officer slapping young man

The police chief of Baltimore’s public school system has been placed on administrative leave as officials investigate a cellphone video that shows a uniformed officer slapping a young man.

Schools spokeswoman Edie House Foster said Wednesday that school officials are “vigorously” investigating the case, and confirmed the unnamed officer in the video was placed on administrative leave, along with Chief Marshall Goodwin of the schools police.

Foster would not say why the two were placed on leave.

The video was shot Tuesday at REACH Partnership School in East Baltimore, according to school officials, and then posted to Facebook. Foster said the officer’s behavior in it is “unacceptable and appalling.”

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Wednesday morning also described the scene in the video as “appalling,” and said the officer’s actions could further harm the relationship between the community and the police.

“Anytime there is a law enforcement officer with that level of authority that seems to be abusing that authority, it impacts all of us across the country,” she said. “It certainly is not helpful as we work to build bridges of trust to see that level of mistreatment.”

An officer in uniform is shown slapping a young man three times and kicking him once. Both the officer and the young man are black.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

“The behavior that was demonstrated on the video, you never want to see anyone treated like that,” Rawlings-Blake said.

The mayor said she’s supportive of how city schools Chief Executive Gregory Thornton is handling the schools.

Last month, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund called on the Department of Justice to expand its investigation of the Baltimore Police Department to include the city school police department. The two police departments operate independently.

“There is evidence that the [school police department] has used force against students,” the NAACP said in a statement in early February.

A coalition of racial justice advocates has also denounced the behavior by the school police officer in the video, and said it would hold a news conference later in the day to address the “release of a video showing a Baltimore school resource officer in a profanity-laced rampage.”

The coalition includes the Advancement Project, Baltimore Algebra Project and the Alliance for Educational Justice.

Foster said school officials were made aware of the video late Tuesday afternoon. The video is four seconds in length, and circumstances before it was taken remain unknown.

“We are waiting for the department to conduct a full and complete investigation,” said Sgt. Clyde Boatwright, president of the school police union.

Identities of the officer and young man remain unknown. The video was taken by another young man, who is not identified.

Baltimore Sun reporters Luke Broadwater, Erica L. Green and Tim Prudente and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

ALSO

Oklahoma takes action on fracking-related earthquakes — but too late, critics say

Homes evacuated in New York town as ethanol leaks from derailed train

Fatal police shooting in North Carolina has African American community on edge