Firing Upheld Of Md. Officer In Skateboard Video
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Maryland court says the Baltimore police commissioner had the authority to fire an officer who berated and pushed a 14-year-old skateboarder who called him "dude."
The Baltimore Sun reports that the Court of Special Appeals, the state's second-highest court, upheld the firing Friday of Salvatore Rivieri.
Rivieri was caught on video berating the teenager at the Inner Harbor in 2007 after ordering him to stop skateboarding. The
exchange went viral and Rivieri was fired. An administrative hearing board cleared Rivieri of using excessive force and
language, the most serious allegations, but found him guilty of not writing a report.
The board recommended he be suspended for six days or lose that amount of leave.
The appeals court said the police commissioner had authority to fire Rivieri despite that recommendation.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
