2 Baltimore officers charged in recorded assault on teenager

Associated Press

BALTIMORE

Two officers who police Baltimore’s public schools walked out of jail Wednesday pending trial for assault and misconduct after their violent confrontation with a student was recorded by another teenager.

Both have checkered records, prompting parents and authorities alike to question whether enough is being done to prevent violent people from being hired to keep schoolchildren peaceful and safe.

Police said Wednesday that Saverna Bias purportedly told her fellow officer, Anthony Spence, to use force against the teen. According to a witness, she said, “You need to smack him because he’s got too much mouth,” police said. The video shows Spence shouting profanities as he repeatedly slaps and kicks the boy, telling him to leave the school and go home.

Spence was not trying to arrest the 10th-grader, nor was he acting in reasonable self-defense, city police said.

At a packed school board meeting Tuesday night, some parents and principals implored officials to keep officers in the schools for everyone’s safety. Students and their advocates countered that having armed police with insufficient oversight in schools can be damaging and dangerous.

Tim Martin, an administrator at the New Hope Academy, said he understands the frustration, but believes most officers show enough patience to “therapeutically de-escalate students in crisis and help school personnel maintain a safe school environment.”