Salvatore Rivieri

Salvatore Rivieri is a Baltimore, Maryland, police officer who came to national attention in February 2008 following the release of two videos depicting separate incidents of him assaulting and mistreating citizens.
The first video was posted to Youtube on February 9, 2008 and showed Officer Rivieri berating and manhandling a 14-year-old-boy, Eric Bush, who had been skateboarding in a tourist area of Inner Harbor where skateboarding is not permitted. After the video surfaced, Rivieri was suspended with pay while the Baltimore Police Department conducted an investigation. The story made national headlines and prompted another man to come forward with footage of an earlier confrontation with the officer.
On February 18 2008, WMAR-TV (an ABC News affiliate in Baltimore) obtained the second video involving Officer Rivieri, in which he confronted a local artist who was making a film that depicted the reactions of passersby to a small box he was moving around a sidewalk with a remote controlled car. The footage shows Rivieri kicking the box and then the small car across the pavement before verbally assaulting the young filmmaker.
In the wake of the incidents in April 2008, the Baltimore Police Department made wholesale changes to the leadership of the unit patrolling the city's Inner Harbor. A new lieutenant and sergeant took command of the 12 officers in charge of patrolling the area from the edge of Federal Hill to the Fallsway, near Pier 5. Sterling Clifford, a spokesman for the police department, said: "Given the extreme nature of that incident, we thought it was important for the officers to brush up on their interpersonal skills."
The Baltimore Police Department's internal investigation ultimately levied administrative charges against Rivieri for using excessive and unnecessary force and "discourtesy". The consequences of the charges have not yet been decided but could include anything from a reprimand to complete termination.

Lawsuit
The mother of the boy filed a suit against Rivieri in April 2008, two months after the video was widely circulated, seeking $6 million for assault, battery and violation of rights. The city sought to have the suit dismissed, because, among other things, such claims must be filed within 180 days of the incident; but the family's attorney argued that the statute of limitations did not apply to a minor. On December 11, 2008, Baltimore Circuit Judge Marcus Z. Shar ruled that the lawsuit could proceed despite being filed late.
On September 14, 2009, Rivieri was granted a "motion for summary judgment to dismiss" by Circuit Judge Evelyn Cannon. William P. Blackford, the attorney for the Bush family, said of the judgment: "The family is incredibly disappointed, and feels wronged...they've had their day in court taken away."
In early 2009, the Baltimore Police Department cited death threats Rivieri received after the Youtube video surfaced as a reason for implementing a new policy of not disclosing the names of police officers who shoot or kill citizens.

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