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Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

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That video of the cop yelling at the skater

Posted: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:11 PM by Will Femia

I had this Clicked Court item in my notes for later but I see the TV folks are showing a bit of it in their news cycle. The story is that after seeing the video the Baltimore Police Department wasn't impressed with what they saw from one of their officers on YouTube so they suspended him (desk duty with pay). Of course, the part you care about; the video:

I love the very last chopped-off line when he remembers there's such a thing as YouTube. I also like how he shouts his own name, just to make sure there's no question about who's abusing his power.

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Comments

That officer was out of line. It's sad to see people abuse power with kids knowing they're usually too scared to do much about it. Thank goodness for cameras and youtube. Perhaps egocentric officers like this one can learn to keep their cool!

Norma, Los Angeles, CA (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:43 PM)

Yuck. Power trips are so ugly.

whoohoogirl1 (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:01 PM)

What a jerk, I would think him roughing up the kid early on in the video is worse than his verbal abuse power trip. He must not have been one of the "cool" kids in school and is taking it out on them now.

Shawn G NYC (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:08 PM)

Aaaaaaaand this is why I hate police officers. I used to play a lot of hackey sack (footbag) during university. It was myself and anywhere from 1 to 8 other friends that played. We used to get hassled by police officers everywhere we went.

Play at a school - cops show up
Play in a parking log - cops show up
Played at the end of a road - cops show up

I mean, I can understand why they don't want people to skateboard on public property. People do all sorts of tricks that can get you injured and the city doesn't want to get sued, or have to fix things that could possibly get broken (no, that is not an excuse for the officer in the video acting that way). I just hate it when cops think they are something special because they have a badge.

This is not to say that all police officers are bad. I've met a fair number that are great, that don't abuse their power and that are really only concerned with helping people. However, they seem to be few and far between these days...

Michael, Halifax, Canada (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:26 PM)

Salvatore Riviera of the Baltimore City Police Department. A disgrace to himself, the badge, and his entire department.

He gets credit for having the best hissy fit tantrum that I have seen since I last spent time at a preschool.

Justin, Cincinnati, Ohio (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:57 PM)

I encourage others to write a note to the Baltimore City Police Department's public relations office to let them know your feelings on this video. They can be e-mailed at:

Public Affairs <questions@baltimorepolice.org>

Brian, Harrisburg, PA (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:58 PM)

The kids definitely were not respecting The Law, but in this case I believe the cop is out of line and doesn't deserve respect.  Good job for whoever kept the video camera running!

Daddy Dave, Fort Collins, CO (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:06 PM)

My mistake. His name is correctly spelled Officer Salvatore Rivieri.

I definitely agree that it is a great idea to e-mail the Baltimore Police's public affairs office (questions@baltimorepolice.org) and let them know that this conduct is disgraceful.

Some people talk different than others. Some say "dude", some have an accent, some say "aks" instead of "ask" or "liberry" instead of "library". Perhaps someone should explain the First Amendment to Officer Rivieri and note that it does not include provisions for assaulting and battering people who speak differently than you.

Besides... when I was a kid I always heard that a dude was "a hair on an elephant's backside"... if that is the case, then it seems fitting enough to call cry-baby Rivieri a dude.

Justin, Cincinnati, OH (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:57 PM)

Honsetly, I don't see what the kids did that was disrespectful to "The Law" or the cop. Calling a cop "dude" and saying they didn't hear him isn't being disrespectul. The kids were calm, they were honest, they complied with his requests, they didn't even raise their voices. I think they handled the situation extremely well for such young boys faced with power hungry cop.

Catherine W. (Sent Wednesday, February 13, 2008 7:22 PM)

As a citizen of Baltimore for over 30 years, I was appalled at seeing this video.  I wrote both the Police Dept. and the Mayor's office urging for harsher disciplinary actions.  The Inner Harbor is a wonderful place and the biggest tourist attraction for the City and should have only our finest and most rational officers helping citizens and visitors.  Our new Mayor has been very tough on police abuse so far and I do believe this will be addressed further.

Todd, Baltimore, MD (Sent Thursday, February 14, 2008 4:16 AM)

Todd,

  That is excellent to hear. I am very glad that the citizens of Baltimore (those whose voices will have the most impact) are speaking out against this.

  I just can't stand a pig headed bully. Especially an adult one with a gun that is going off on children that aren't even half of his size. Officer Salvatore Rivieri screaming how his tantrum wouldn't be necessary if the kids' parents had taken the opportunity to physically abuse the children was especially appalling.

I sincerely hope that no woman has had the misfortune of bearing him any children. Ladies, you know what you need to do (or rather what you need to not do)!

Jared, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:29 PM)

Being a former Police Officer, I feel extremely embarressed by the attitude, actions, and disrespect Officer Rivieri showed toward (these) boys.  He has made the boys fearful and distrustful when they encounter other officers (some bad, most good).  His whole demeanor has taught our children that it is okay to abuse people for anything!  This is completely unacceptable of a public servant!!!

Syl, Citrus Heights, CA (Sent Thursday, February 14, 2008 7:20 PM)

The cop seemed pompous and I hope his parents talked to him about his behavior.

Ryan (Sent Saturday, February 16, 2008 4:53 PM)

That is just another fat cop with a blubber mouth.  I think it a shame of the land that these fools are the norm.  I've seen them everywhere I've lived.  Pathetic, uneducated, boobs.  Fortunately, being somewhat ignorant in their daily walk, I've found them easy prey to a quick wit and fast talk.  Easy to con, but still very dangerous thugs.

Lewis F.. Poteet, TX (Sent Sunday, February 17, 2008 1:23 AM)

If a parent put their hands on their child the way the police officer did they would be arrested for child abuse.  I saw no reason for him to assault that young man.  Officer Rivieri kept yelling about the kid not shutting his mouth-but then would yell at him for not answering him.  The kid probably didn't know what to do after the police officer attacked him the way he did.  

Layla Dowling St. Louis, Missouri (Sent Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:24 PM)

Angry reactions to the video...  Like this cop, most cops fail to understand that they work for us.  I grew up in Los Angeles, where an occupying army called the LAPD would literally shoot you before asking questions.   If you weren't the right color or the right tax bracket, you'd be harrassed or worse.  Being a kid in LA was like being a leper.  Honestly, "officer" Rivieri deserves to be sacked and criminal charged filed for abuse.  

Michael, Sacramento, CA (Sent Tuesday, February 19, 2008 4:08 AM)

Gross!  Someone should've called 911!

Thanks to Justin in Cincin, OH, for the email address of the Baltimore police dept.
I'm sending the following message to the police dept (questions@baltimorepolice.org) as well as to the Mayor's office:

"To the Chief of Police in Baltimore:

If you haven't already seen the following video of the abusive behavior of Officer Salvatore Rivieri, please take a moment to look at it.
http://clicked.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/13/661976.aspx

I'm so sorry to see such brutal behavior from an officer of the law.  Anyone else who exhibited such behavior would be arrested for child abuse.  Officer Rivieri should not be allowed to continue to hold his position on the police force. Something must be done to protect innocent citizens from those who abuse their power.

I would appreciate a response informing me of how this cruel act has been handled."

Thanks for your thoughtful regard,

Shashi

shashi, New Mexico (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 11:40 PM)

ok, so I see now that Rivieri was suspended and put on desk duty with pay.  Seems like way too mild of a reprimand.  I think he should be put an island with a thousand skate-boarding kids.  You think he'd chill out??  

shashi, new mexico (Sent Monday, February 25, 2008 11:48 PM)

This is truly horrible children are beautiful creatures  and should never be yelled at by anyone or hurt by anyone its sad to know that this sort of thing is still happening.  

Dr dean (psychologist) (Sent Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:29 PM)



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