What an asshole. Saw this on fark. Funny that when I go to the poll in the story and vote for if he should be fired or not 52% of people said he should not be fired! One year away from his pension too. Idiot.

 

 

Fired Officer In YouTube Rant Speaks Out

Baltimore Officer Salvatore Rivieri 'Devastated'

 

 

 

POSTED: 12:14 am EDT August 29, 2010

UPDATED: 12:18 am EDT August 29, 2010

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore police officer fired three years after a rant toward a teenage skateboarder spoke out Saturday morning, saying he feels devastated and blindsided by the firing.

 

Officer Salvatore Rivieri, a 19-year veteran, is no longer with the department, officials said in confirming the dismissal.

 

A video posted on YouTube, apparently shot in the summer of 2007, shows Rivieri putting a youth, Eric Bush, into a headlock and pushing him to the ground. Bush was 14 at the time. The clip received millions of views on YouTube and was picked up by national news channels.

 

On Saturday morning's Kendel Ehrlich Show on WBAL 1090 AM, Rivieri said of the 2007 confrontation the he warned the boy and his friends that skateboarding at the Inner Harbor is illegal.

 

What Do You Think?

Listen: FOP President Talks To 1090 AM

Salvatore Rivieri Talks To 1090 AM

 

Bush has said he did not hear an order that the officer gave him about skateboarding at the Inner Harbor. Rivieri repeatedly got upset at being called "dude" in the video.

 

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"I'm not 'man.' I'm not 'dude,' I am Officer Rivieri," he told the teen. "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."

 

On Saturday, Rivieri said the video does not show him and Bush shaking hands after the confrontation.

 

Rivieri was suspended and sent back on the streets in November 2008. Earlier this month, the city police trial board dismissed the most serious charges against him but found him guilty of failure to submit a police report and recommended a six-day suspension without pay; however, days later, Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld overruled that decision and fired him.

 

Rivieri is appealing the case. Bob Cherry, head of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, said Wednesday that the union is outraged by the firing. Cherry said the officers in the FOP have supported Rivieri's actions.

 

The Police Department has declined comment citing a personnel matter.

The Baltimore harbor is the only decent area there... 2 blocks away is a very bad area. I think I remember seeing no-skateboarding signs all over there anyway. Darn kids. I think the cop was just doing his job.

It's not about him doing his job, it's about how he went about it. That kid was basically assaulted. He's what? 110 pounds dripping wet with rocks in his pockets? That cop was a bully and got what he deserved when he got fired.

 

I'm hoping that the presence of video cameras everywhere will force cops to do the right thing more often

power trippy a hole and a badge is a bad mix. I bet his fellow LE took a few steps away from him....

Who cares how many times the cop told the kid not to skateboard there, how many signs... no reason to go on a friggin rant and assault a 14yr old kid. He deserved every bit of getting fired... should have ended up in jail. If it was that much of a problem he should have just taken the boys down to the station and called their parents in. That *SHOULD* do more than beating the kid up. If it happened over and over, threaten to fine the parents. If it keeps happening, fine the parents. If the parents don't pay, get a warrant and arrest them. One way or another they will stop skateboarding there... and nobody had to get beat up.

Absolutely he should lose his job.

 

He wasn't doing his job, he was on a power trip. "the sooner you learn this, the longer you'll live in this world"? Really......That kid got violated and the ofc. got what was coming.

 

Too many cops cross the line and use the badge to cover the arse!

 

Chaulk one up for the good guys here!

I think this was an excellent scenario for the judicious use of TASER. Skateboarders have no regard.

Hmm. I do agree with the taser.. I admit I have not watched the video.

Jesus.....where you guys ever young and nowhere to go do your thing?

 

I can understand they are a little tough to deal with but they are young, as we were once and stupid, just like us.

I like the end where he finally sees the camera.

 

Basically, he should have been disciplined, fired...I dont know. The cop was wrong to headlock the kid and the kid has an attitude and needs to learn respect. That I agree with. Kids now have no respect for anyone. If that was me, when i got home I would have gotten a beating like no ones seen lately.

Do I feel bad for a cop with attitude like that, NO. But many have that attitude and it would not make me sad to see some fired.

Jesus.....where you guys ever young and nowhere to go do your thing?

 

I can understand they are a little tough to deal with but they are young, as we were once and stupid, just like us.

 

I agree that kids will be kids and should be dealt with accordingly. I just think that skaters always seem to take that to the next level.From my experience, I think skateboarding attracts a certain breed of miscreant (in addition to the normal variety) teenagers. I was a teenage punk rock kid with skater friends, so I sympathize, but the kid is asking for something by being a defiant prick.

I didn't see him as being defiant. I actually saw him as not knowing what to do. Sorta like oh sh!t, what do I do now kinda thing.

 

The dude thing is kinda funny also. The cop has to lighten up and learn how to deal with the public. This isn't the military.

 

 

 

I have a friend who received a ticket for public urination in belmar. He didn't even get to commit the offense, as the cop stopped it from happening. He never even got his pants open, but yet got a ticket for PU anyway. When I commented, I got shut up etc.....typical I am god cause I wear a badge complex...

 

I wanna know how you get a ticket for preperation for public uriantion? That was what I asked the cop, though I was a little tipsy when I asked it and my friends laughed.

I didn't see him as being defiant. I actually saw him as not knowing what to do. Sorta like oh sh!t, what do I do now kinda thing.

 

The dude thing is kinda funny also. The cop has to lighten up and learn how to deal with the public. This isn't the military.

 

 

 

I have a friend who received a ticket for public urination in belmar. He didn't even get to commit the offense, as the cop stopped it from happening. He never even got his pants open, but yet got a ticket for PU anyway. When I commented, I got shut up etc.....typical I am god cause I wear a badge complex...

 

I wanna know how you get a ticket for preperation for public uriantion? That was what I asked the cop, though I was a little tipsy when I asked it and my friends laughed.

 

That is Conspiracy to Urinate in Public.

Yeah, as a kid I got in trouble with the cops a number of times... none of them involved getting verbally and physically assaulted. Every time it was in the back of a cop car, down at the station, parents called, parents brought my home, reamed my f-in ass to no end and I never did THAT again. "That" was much worse than skateboarding around some marina or whatever

Hmm. I do agree with the taser.. I admit I have not watched the video.

 

Watch the video. Taser is not needed at all. The kid wasn't even being a dick.

On lunch - just watched the video. The kid's an idiot. No respect for his elders, law enforcement, or the rules. The headlock may have been a bit much and yes, disciplinary action should have been taken, but firing, I would think not. That kid did need a butt whooping.

So you're basically saying if you see a kid skateboarding around in an area that says no skateboarding, the thing you should do it tell them someone will kill them, then headlock and drop their ass to the ground? That's the message the cop just sent.

Disagree. Oh well. Glad he's fired.

No, if the kid was being verbally abusive to the cop, then he is within his means to take action. I think the correct term is Disorderly Conduct.

Whatever came out of the kids mouth is irrelevant. There was no justified escalation of force..... and the way the officer handled it really shows a much greater concern for his psychological disposition in this kind of job. <---- the real issue.

We don't know the whole story behind this - there is most likely a whole other element to the whole situation to which we aren't aware of. The skaters could have been possibly endangering people or something else. From that short video, yes, I do agree his actions were too extreme, but it could have been justified by events not in the video.

First thing the cops does is escalate the situation by yelling at the kid and telling him that he is going to "smack him upside the head". The kid says "I dont have a father" ya in a smart ass tone so then the cops beats his ass?

 

The cop could have just as easily detained the kids, called the parents, and give the threat to someone who hopefully cares (mom/dad).

 

If there was another side to the story, like the kids beating up an old lady... the cop wouldnt be yelling at them for skateboarding. He would have simply arrested them. They obviously were not being violent, and the entire situation went from verbal to physical in 45 seconds.

That's the point. Basically the cop has a little pee-pee and wanted to make to intimidate the kid. The kid looked confused about what was going on.

 

 

If you think the kid needs a beaten from what you saw on that video, maybe we should be concerned about you?

 

I came from a family that gave beatens. I mean being 10-11 and getting fucked up by your father like it was a street fight. So....................I got an a$$ kickin when the wind blew the wrong way.

Not that the kid deserves a beating, but I mean c'mon - you're 14 and you don't know how to show respect properly? The FIRST time the officer told him not to call him dude or man but officer, anyone who was taught respect would have realized the problem and addressed him properly. The fact that he chose to continuously disobey is the issue that I have.

The dude incident happened after the cop attacked, head locked, dropped the kid, and stole his skateboard...

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here was another one..

 

OH, we posted at the same time..

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Yeah I just went back and watched that again.

 

I still think the kid needed discipline. The "I don't have a father" part was just plain stupid. You don't backtalk your elders. In Chinese culture, that would earn you a beating.. worse than a headlock

No doubt the kid needs some discipline... we're on the same page there. Its just not the job of a police officer to rough up a kid for skateboarding.

 

Where does this dude draw the line? Will he pull somebody outta a car for parking illegally... start beating their ass on the curb?