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2 Baltimore School Officers Arrested in Assault on Teenager
Two police officers for the Baltimore schools have been arrested after the release of a cellphone video showing one of them slapping and kicking a teenager while the second officer stood by.
One officer, Anthony Spence, 44, was charged with second-degree assault, second-degree child abuse by a custodian and misconduct in office in the episode, which occurred March 1, according to a statement by the Baltimore police. Officer Spence posted bond and was released Wednesday.
The second officer, Saverna Bias, was charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office. She also posted bond and was released, according to court records.
In the video, an officer, who was later identified as Officer Spence, can be seen slapping and kicking the teenager.
Officer Spence acknowledged in a conversation with The Associated Press on Friday that he was the subject of a criminal investigation into the actions captured on cellphone video last week at the Reach! Partnership School.
“Right now I’m the bad guy,” he said. He referred questions to his lawyer, Michael Davey, who did not immediately respond to a phone call Wednesday morning.
The school district has its own police force separate from city police. The Baltimore City Police began a criminal investigation into the incident at the school after the eight-second clip surfaced.
School officials initially said that the officers had responded to a reported intruder, and that the young man in the video was not a student. On Friday, the school system said in a statement that he was “believed to be a student on the school’s roster.” The young man’s lawyer, Lauren Geisser, says he is a 10th-grader.
On Monday, the chief executive of Baltimore City Schools, Gregory Thornton, met with parents to discuss the video and said he would review training and selection of school police officers.
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