Angry NJ Ex-Sheriff's Officer Confronts Teen In Viral Video

Editor's note: The video attached to this article contain profane language.

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Video of a retired Passaic County Sheriff's Officer getting in a boy's face has gone viral.

The encounter, which reportedly occurred in Fair Lawn, starts when the former officer, a captain, tells the boy, "Don't be a punk." The man then says he is a captain with the Passaic County Sheriff's Department and flashes his badge in the boy's face.

"I'm a captain with the Passaic County Sheriff's Department," the man yells as he walks up and gets within inches of the boy, who is black. "Be respectful. I grew up in Paterson, be respectful. [It] doesn't matter what color you are."

The man, who uses a profanity twice, said in the video he approached the boy because he was pointing at him. He walked up to the boy and yelled at him while the boy stood his ground.

"Oh, I'm pointing at you," the boy says to the man.

The two exchange words and the man says something to someone off camera before a woman leads him away.

A police officer then tells the boy to "get out of here" and the video ends. NJ.com reported the incident occurred in Paterson Aug. 5 and that the police officer was with the Fair Lawn Police Department.

Sgt. Brian Metzler of the Fair Lawn Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Passaic County Sheriff's Department spokesman Bill Maer confirmed Wednesday that the man in the video is a former "long-retired" officer with the Passaic County Sheriff's Department.

Activist Zellie Thomas shared the video on Facebook Aug. 7 where it has been viewed more than 24,000 times.

More than 100 Facebook users commented on the video.

"What [the] man did was wrong and I do give the kid props for standing his ground and not doing anything stupid," said user Maeve Cronin who works nearby, "but there are a lot of teenagers that are very disrespectful in this specific area so I understand where this man is coming from but by no means what so ever should he have gone off like that."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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