Prince George’s County Police Department patrol car.Photo:Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty
A Maryland police officer was suspended after a video circulated online of him kissing a woman and getting into the back of a patrol car with her.
The now-viral video,shared Monday on TikTok, showed the officer wrapping his arms around a woman and kissing her in front of the car. After some time, he and the woman headed to the back of the police car, his arm around her shoulders, and they both could be seen getting in the backseat.
The Prince George’s County Police Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday that it was aware of “avideo circulating on social mediawith one of our officers” and launched an investigation to “determine the circumstances" of the situation.
On Tuesday afternoon, the police department gave anupdate that it had identified the officerin the video and that his “police powers are now suspended as the investigation continues.”
The Prince George’s County Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the identity of the officer or details about his suspension.
This reportedly wasn’t Marlett’s first suspension, as he had been previously suspended in 2015 due to allegations of child abuse, according toFox 5 DCand CBS News affiliateThe Baltimore Banner.
Prince George’s County Police Department badge.Prince George County Police Department/Facebook
Prince George County Police Department/Facebook
Nelson Ochoa, who filmed the viralTikTokvideo, told NBC4 Washington that he had been on Southlawn Park in Oxon Hill onLabor Dayenjoying soccer with other families when he saw the police car pull up and decided to record.
“We couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” Ochoa said. “And what really made us go, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’ is when the car started rocking a little bit to the left and right. That’s when we were, like, ‘This is crazy.’ In broad daylight with kids around.”
He said after about 35 to 40 minutes, the officer and woman drove off in different directions.
Prince George’s County state attorney Aisha Braveboy told Fox 5 DC that the Prince George’s County Police Department’s internal affairs are still investigating the incident.
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“We don’t know what [the] circumstances were. We don’t know if there was a violation of departmental policy or the law, you know? That occurred. But that’s why the internal affairs is looking into it, and they’ll make a decision,” she said.
“The difficult thing is that when you are picking up things on a camera, they’re somewhat one-dimensional, so you’re only seeing it,” Braveboy continued. “You don’t know the emotion. You don’t know the conversation, the circumstances.”
She added, “That’s why police departments have general orders on how officers should conduct themselves while in uniform, while utilizing their cruisers to prevent these types of incidents from happening but at this point, there’s no reason to believe anything criminal occurred. At this point, it’s an investigation of the department.”
source: people.com
