BALTIMORE — A Baltimore Police Officer was sentenced to 6 months in prison and two years in prison fully suspended with two years of supervised probation for assaulting a juvenile victim in front of City Hall.
According to the State Attorney Office, on July 5, 2016 at about 2 a.m., Officer Carlos Rivera-Martinez responded to a request for additional officers in the 400 block of Baltimore Street.
Police there were told to clear the block, as a group of people had congregated, yelling at officers and refusing to leave. When the group wouldn’t move, Rivera-Martinez said he was going to arrest the juvenile for disorderly conduct and failing to obey an officer’s lawful order. The juvenile said he left when ordered, disputing the officer’s claims.
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As the juvenile began running away, Rivera-Martinez pursued him on foot, following him north on Gay Street and eventually apprehending him in front of City Hall. At that point, the juvenile stopped in the midst a gravel path, put his hands up, and kneeled, according to the statement recount the events presented at trial from Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Trostle and Police Trust and Police Integrity Unit Officer Alex Rodriguez.
Rivera-Martinez proceeded to tackle the juvenile and hit him several times with a Taser the officer had in hand.
The juvenile’s actions were not recorded in the original statement of charges, but his actions were later discovered when investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the Memorial Plaza area.
The juvenile was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center where he was treated for cuts and abrasions to his face and head, as well as for a broken leg.
