With all the talk of “union busting” going on as many states attempt to come to terms with their budget crises, the Baltimore Police Department is showing the world just how tough it can be to take action against a police union member, and more importantly, how difficult it is for a police commissioner to reign in a police force that appears to believe that roughing up kids is a good way to interact with the public.
As many will remember Baltimore Police officer Salvatore Rivieri was caught on video back in February of 2008 being an abusive, authoritarian ass to a 14-year-old skateboarder. Thanks to Youtube the officer was suspended. Then, two years later a police board found the officer ‘not guilty on charges of using excessive and unnecessary force and uttering a discourtesy.”
In August of 2010, three years after the original incident, Rivieri was finally fired from his job as a Boston Police officer. The union representing the officer, Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 3, claimed that the officer’s firing sent “the wrong message to all our police officers” and they fought his firing.
Now, On Monday, February 28, 2011, a judge has reportedly upheld the firing, according to a story in the Baltimore Sun. But apparently this entire issue is not over yet.
The ruling by Judge Sylvester B. Cox sets the stage for an appeal, which lawyers said is likely, promising continued debate over Salvatore Rivieri’s actions and his vitriolic lecture on parenting and youthful indifference that was watched by hundreds of thousands of people on YouTube. . . “The court is not here to second-guess the police commissioner,” Cox ruled after hearing arguments in a courtroom filled with Rivieri’s family and former colleagues on the force. “The commissioner acted well within his discretion. This court is not going to disrupt his position.”
The original video has now been viewed over 5 millions times. Sounds like former officer Rivieri should hang up the badge and get a reality TV show. People obviously enjoy watching him lose it on video.
[Link: Baltimore Sun]
Good deal. He should have been fired. And he should have been arrested.
If he was a civilian he would have been arrested for assault on a minor.
This cop clearly wins the douchebag-of-the-year award. Not that I haven’t seen and personally dealt with worse in my day, but at least these kids caught him on camera.
However Boardistan, to somehow conflate this with an arguement against the rights of all public-sector union employees is pretty ridiculous.
If the actions of one police officer, or one officer’s union are reprehensible, then that needs to be dealt with. However, to support the right-wing agenda of completely busting every union is pretty weak.
I’ve been skating for over 20 years, and I’m a high school English teacher at a public school. As a union member, I’ll be the first to tell you that there are problems with some unions. However, to use this as an excuse to get rid of unions altogether is exactly the trap that the right wing wants you to fall into. The alternative – without unions for public-sector employees – is frankly pretty f-ing scary.
Think about it, would you rather have a privately-contracted police force (a-la Blackwater, etc.) rather than a public police force? Do you really think it would be easier to hold a privately-operated police force accountable?
What we need is better unions, not the absence of unions. Public space should be available to all (including skateboarders), and public protection should be for all as well. Hold the police accountable, but don’t use a bad cop as a misinformed excuse to get rid of all unions.
Jeff you a retard, really you are or you are blinded by idiology. If I spelled that wrong it is because I went to Baltimore city schools and was taught by bad teachers. Union legacy costs in the auto unions fucked the industry and the same is for teachers, firemen and cops. I have lived in so called B-more for all of my life and have met this cop. It was when he help me chase down a couple of monkeys stealing from a church charity fair. This was two years ago after the dude incident. I changed my opinion of him but still does not excuse his actions. His time to police is over. But loss of his pension? How do you square that union lover? The boys here do good work, good honest free market opinion work. From Cali they see past fly over country to the second most liberal state in America with the second highest murder rate per ca pita that getting people who need to go for the better of the community is near impossible and we will all suffer for generations till this is changed.
hahahaha! Ive been following this for years… Ive been skating my whole life and im 31. Im so glad this pig scum lost his job. Look deeper into this jerk im sure youll find all types of hidden demons.What goes around comes around DUDE!! hahahaha
The youtube video using the sound bites for crank calls is pretty funny. Not sure how Blackwater is relevant being they operate in the Middle East. And, public employees take care of public employees, it would be the private companies that get screwed if they messed up. Cops do not give cops tickets. But, what if the cops worked for different companies. Hmmm?
fuck this pig
Correct
FUCK THIS PIG
If 14 YO kid yelled “fuck-you officer” and pushed officer Douche Rivieri he’d be in JAIL for ASSULT & BATTERY of a (Pig)Officer.
why the double standard, professional coward shit-stain, can’t handle his temper around a 13-14 year old kid……… HE DOES NOT NEED A GUN or a License to Kill that all cops have.
PIGS
i’m glad this piece of shit cop lost his job. What an abusive bully. He probably got picked on in school as a kid. Justice was finally served.
I guess bullies don’t take too well to paying for what they did – instead they whine they are being mistreated. Should have thought of that sooner cry baby.
Had this officer not been caught on tape, there would be no case. No telling all the goods and BADs that this DUDE had done. But video don’t like, even in slow motion.
Poor cop He has a real anger problem, but did he just not broke the law by threatening to kill the kid. i would be inclined to think he was badly traumatized as a kid more along the lines of his farther, how does he treat his own children they probably change the names
This man threatened to kill that kid atleast 3 times in the clip that was cought. He assaulted the minor child atleast 3 times physicly, He abused his authority and terrorized him with his Loud screaming. He should be guilty of 3 counts of assaulting a Minor child, 3 counts of threatening the life of a citizen, Contempt of cop aggression (not sure that charge. I know that he was practicly red faced in anger) Over what? The kid skateboarding. I wonder if he puts his boot up his own childs butt enough? This guys anger issues border on mental deseas. He should have lost his job within a week not 2 Years after the fact, Then he should have been put in jail. This is not the mans only video taped abuse. He threatened the life of a man in a public park playing with a remote controlled car toy. I rest my case at this point.
this pig’s case should re open and put him in jail,
Foreal though I’m sick of cops acting like try can do what ever they want without consequences
The fact that the courtroom was filled with Rivieri’s former colleagues on the force is utterly ridiculous.
I simply have no tolerance for police officers who BULLY other people. And what’s even more insulting to everyone’s intelligence is for other police officers, who know Riveri was in the wrong, to show up in court and back him up.
Another thing, since Riveri is so brave with a 14 year olds … I’d like see him bring his fat rear end around to where the drug dealers are usurping our corners, and sitting on people’s front steps dealing drugs, and when you ask the drug dealers to leave they look at you as if you are on THEIR property … where’s officer Riveri then. Please! This man doesn’t deserve to be a police office. He gives them ALL a bad name. I hope the 14-year-old’s family sues Riveri for all he’s got.
Most of these comments do not surprise me. This is the direct knock on effect of the removal of corporal punishment in schools and taking away the right for parents to kick their disrespectful children up the ass. These police officers have to deal with children like this little fatherless punk every day, a little mommy’s boy who could not stand up straight and answer the guy’s questions without bleating like a stuffed little pig. He is a typical generation Y kid who thinks he has to answer to no one, has no respect for his elders or the Police and DESERVED what he got… What a messed up society we live in these days that when a Police officer cannot deal out some harsh justice to some wimpy little kid who needs HARDENING up…. Most skaters are wimpy skinny whinging gimps anyway… Does not surprise me in the least…..
it would be interesting to see what Rivieri’s coworkers have to say about him. i would guess not much?
I can’t believe this idiot and thug believes he deserves to be rehired, He shoud still be arrested if possible,
This is a normal day for a person that skates, theres always cops that pick on kids and think they can throw them around. Me and my buddies were skating on the left side of the road and got ticket, WTF i thought this was a free country, guess not because cops think there above the law, really? are you going to go up to a 25 years old skater that could kick your ass and throw him around no he toke advantage of his weight (he could drop more then a few pounds) to throw this kid away and take his board without probable cause and threatened the kid more then once. i think cops need more training and need to have a full mental check-up before they can go around and do this. skaters get this every day and there are many cops that do this that should get fired but its never caught on tape, lucky this was!!
im not dude and I am anot man
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