Newark Officer: “I can do whatever I want!”

Images from WCBS-TV

A Newark police officer has been suspended after a nasty altercation with a WCBS-TV photographer on Sunday which resulted in the photographer’s arrest. Cameraman Jim Quodomine was filming a peaceful demonstration from a public sidewalk when Special Officer Brian Sharif approached Quodomine, ordered him to stop filming, then lunged at him and grabbed his camera. Sharif then put Quodomine in a choke hold and lead him to a squad car. It’s unclear why Officer Sharif felt filming the march was a problem.

On the footage, a woman’s voice can be heard saying “You can’t arrest him!” To which Officer Sharif responds, “I can do whatever I want!” That is a perfect example of the sort of unchecked egoism of certain police officers that leads to incidents like this.

Understandably, there was public outcry, with Newark Mayor Cory Booker saying he was “very dismayed about what happened.” (Mayor Booker is well known for trying to clean up the corruption and reputation of the troubled city.)

Wait, but here’s the kicker:

The officer, Brian Sharif, has been the source of controversy in the past. Last year, he made news after giving a 75-year-old woman four tickets — including one for careless driving — after she pulled out of a funeral home and accidentally went down a one-way street.

This guy not only needs anger management classes, he needs to not be on the police force.

Article via Newark Star-Ledger