Baltimore Officer Suspended After Throwing Punches: Police

BALTIMORE, MD — One police officer has been suspended and another was placed on administrative duty pending an investigation by the Baltimore Police Department into a video that Interim Commissioner Gary Tuggle said left him "deeply disturbed." The video appeared to show a policeman punching, tackling and throwing to the ground a man who yelled at him on a sidewalk.

Police said that two officers were working at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday in the 2500 block of Monument Street when they encountered someone who was familiar to one of the officers. When they approached him again to get his contact information and he would not give his identification, authorities said the situation escalated.

The officer who had approached him hit the man multiple times, threw him to the ground and detained him, according to the video.

UPDATE: Officer Resigns After Video Shows Him Punching Man On Street

"I’m deeply disturbed by the video that surfaced online earlier today," Tuggle said in a statement Saturday afternoon. "The officer involved has been suspended while we investigate the totality of this incident. Part of our investigation will be reviewing body worn camera footage."

Immediately, the Baltimore Police Department sent investigators from its internal affairs department to the scene because videos of the confrontation were sent to the agency.

Police said the man who was injured was provided with medical treatment, and he was not charged.

The officer who threw punches at the man has been with the department for over one year, police reported, and he has been suspended. On Sunday night, police said the officer resigned from the Baltimore Police Department.

A second officer at the scene who was shown in the video was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation, police said.

The altercation occurred the same day that the Baltimore Police Department held a graduation ceremony for its latest recruit class at police headquarters downtown.

“On a day that we graduated future Baltimore police officers, I am deeply concerned by the conduct I witnessed today," Tuggle said in a statement Saturday night. “While I have an expectation that officers are out of their cars, on foot, and engaging citizens, I expect that it will be done professionally and constitutionally. I have zero tolerance for behavior like I witnessed on the video today. Officers have a responsibility and duty to control their emotions in the most stressful of situations.”

Police ask anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the Office of Professional Responsibility at 410-396-2300 or report the information online.

Here is video from the altercation, posted by WBAL:

BPD officer suspended after video shows him punching a man.
Since fed judge overseeing Consent Decree questioned city's capacity to implement reforms--
One officer blew off report of man w/gun
One officer charged w/selling drugs
Now this: pic.twitter.com/knTd2Dpm9A
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) August 11, 2018

This is the second incident in the past month in which a video from the public has sparked a change in the status of a police officer at the Baltimore Police Department.

In early July, firefighters shared footage from their dash camera after witnessing a man toss a gun into bushes on St. Paul and Lexington Street, then return shortly thereafter to look for it. They called the dispatch center to report the incident, and flagged down an officer on the street, who told them: "This isn't my district." She said she was not going to respond and was instead going back to the station.

Tuggle informed reporters later that the officer had "separated" from the agency following the incident.

Warning: The video may be disturbing and does contain some profanity.

Still picture from WMAR/YouTube.

This article has been updated.