Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

SPRING VALLEY – Spring Valley police are investigating a video showing one of its officers slamming a man to the concrete after what appears to be a verbal altercation.

Police Chief Paul Modica said Monday he learned about the 15 seconds of video on Facebook on Saturday and the department started an investigation on Monday.

"On its face, the video is troubling," Modica said. "There's the before. What we have is 15 seconds of a five- to six-minute interaction. The whole interaction is not shown."

Mid-Hudson NAACP Regional Director Wilbur Aldridge said the confrontation was over a ticket given to the person slammed to the ground. It looks like an example of "blatant form of police brutality," he said.

"I thought it was horrific," Aldridge said. "It was obvious to us the actions of the police officer were totally unprovoked. The young man was angry so he was voicing his anger. The police officer should be held to a higher standards. He may be annoyed, but that's the nature of the job."

Aldridge and NAACP President Willie Trotman met with Modica and were told the department saw the video and was investigating the incident at the Spring Valley transportation off Main Street. Aldridge said Modica indicated the internal investigation would be finished by week's end and he would get back to the NAACP.

Aldridge also said this is an example of the need for police officers to undergo continuing sensitivity training to understand people and their cultural habits.

Modica told The Journal News investigators were pulling all police reports, all arrest reports and talking to any witnesses.

"We'll do a full investigation," Modica said.

Modica declined to name the officer, saying it's a personnel matter at the moment. He said the officer remains on the job.