It’s the four-second clip that has people around the U.S. up in arms, a 16-year-old pupil at Baltimore’s Reach Partnership High School on the receiving end of the long arm of the law.

Slaps, kicks and swearing all crammed into the short clip, with police making it known that the officer in question is a member of the Baltimore City Schools Police. This is a separate entity to the city’s actual police department with this below from Huffington Post:

According to The Baltimore Sun, the two officers seen in the video are also on administrative leave.

Clyde Boatwright, president of the Baltimore City School Police Union, told WBAL, “It is in the early stages of the investigation, and we look forward to a full and complete investigation, and at this point we’re just waiting for those results”…

It’s not publicly known what sparked the conflict, and school officials have not confirmed whether the teen in the video actually attends the school. But Lauren Geisser, who said she represents the teen and his family, told the Sun that he is a student at the school. Geisser, who declined to identify the minor, also said he received medical attention after sustaining injuries to his face and ribs from the altercation.

This is just one in a long line of incidents filmed at schools around the country, pointing to an alarming trend of black students being attacked by police officers:

“What happened in Baltimore is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of police violence against youth of color,” said Thena Robinson Mock, project director for the Advancement Project Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track, in a statement…

“The bottom line is adults in school buildings should build trust with students, not tear them down with verbal abuse, physical violence, intimidation and harsh disciplinary policies,” Robinson Mock said.

There may be some voices arguing that corporal punishment is a good thing, but what you watched up top is nothing more than a flagrant abuse of power.

[source:huffingtonpost]