The two Baltimore school officers that were caught on a cellphone video, where one of the officers kicked and slapped a student were charged on Tuesday.
The 44-year old officer Anthony Spence was charged on Tuesday for second-degree assault, second-degree child abuse by a custodian, and misconduct in office.
Anthony Spence’s accomplice, Saverna Bias, aged 53, was charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Bias was seen in the background of the widely circulated video as she watched Spence injure the defenseless child.
T.J. Smith, a spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department said:
“The team conducted interviews and gathered evidence related to this case. They consulted with the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office after they concluded their investigation. Charges were prepared and filed with the commissioner yesterday evening,”
According to the court documents, one of the witnesses said before Spence hit the teen, Bias encouraged Spence to teach the kid a lesson “because he’s got too much mouth.”
CEO of the Baltimore City Public Schools Gregory Thornton said:
“I was appalled, I was disappointed. It really cut right to who I am as a person. I’m charged to take care of our children and here we have some folks doing some things that were certainly inappropriate,” Thornton said. “Every emotion went through me, from outrage to disappointment.”
Both Bias and Spence had been with the department for over 10 years.
The chief of police for Baltimore City Public Schools was put on administrative leave until judgment can be passed on his fate and whether or not the chief, Marshall Goodwin had a knowledge of the attack.
The disgusting officer Spence tried to defend himself by saying that the media would twist his story and that “Right now I’m the bad guy,”. Yes, you are the bad guy because you assaulted an innocent tenth-grade child.
For now the family want to keep their names private because they are traumatized at what happened to their son.
The viral video of the officers has opened old wounds for Baltimore police as they try to take care of this incident internally and silence defenders such as Jenny Egan.
Public defender Jenny Egan said:
“Police increase the likelihood of juveniles being pushed into the criminal justice system for low-level offenses. I represented students who were arrested for throwing a carrot and stealing Pokémon cards.”
Both officers are due in court in April where true justice can be served to such vile individuals. For the parents and the kids of Baltimore, this incident just tore off another band-aid in a community already so fragile to the police force.
Image courtesy of Baltimore Police Department via NBC
