In welcoming the new recruit class for the Newark police Monday, Mayor Ras Baraka spoke "justice" and "good" and "lightness" as he sent the group of 144 men and women off to Sea Girt for training.

But, he added, "We don't want you to be weak. We want you to do what's just and what's right, but we do want you to be strong. We need you to protect us, our community, our children and our families."

The mayor went on to say the community did not want to be harassed and his police force is being trained "to treat residents the way they would treat members of their own families."

On Saturday afternoon, the tightrope every cop walks between weakness and strength, and harassment and enforcing order got very slippery for two Newark officers, who today are suspended for failing to act when a young man began jumping on police cars.

"Officers are trained and equipped with less lethal methods if needed," said Anthony Ambrose, Newark's public safety director. "These officers either sat in a car or had their hands in their pockets. They didn't do their jobs."

The officers have not been identified because the investigation is continuing. The first officer who encountered the man has been on the force seven months. The second is a 10-year veteran.

The incident began Saturday around noon near Clinton Place and Weequahic Avenue in Newark's South Ward.

A young man, shirtless and in baggy jean shorts, was videoed by resident Habib Beyah as he leaned against a police car, on the driver's side window. He is animated as he talks through the window at the officer inside. At one point, someone in the video says, "he must be on drugs," and also notes the officer "ain't even gettin' out the car."

That's the part that has Ambrose angry.

"Let's not mix up restraint versus not doing their job," he said.

The young man climbs on the engine hood of the car; he begins stomping it. The impact is clearly heard and the dents he makes are clearly seen on the video, which has been shared 678,000 on Facebook. He then climbs to the roof of the car and begins to yell out to the gathering crowd.

Another voice questions why the cop "ain't doing nothing" when a siren is heard, and a backup unit arrives. At that point, the man stays on the roof and the second officer also stays put. It isn't until the third backup unit arrives that an officer gets out to rein in the man.

He then jumps from the roof, and mounts the second car, then the third. He stands on the roof yelling to the crowd that had swelled to about 50 people. Almost all had their cellphones out.

During his speech Monday, the mayor warned the recruits that "people will talk to you and harass you and they will even jump on your car.

"You will be asked to do a very, very, very difficult job in very, very, very difficult times," he said. "You will be under scrutiny from the very people you're are trying to protect."

And in the Saturday incident, that was exactly what was happening. As the third officer confronted the man, more cellphone cameras came out. The man jumped off the cars and walked right up to the officer and got in his face. The officer is heard saying, "Back up, bro" twice in a calm voice, and backs up slightly himself.

But at this point in the video, there are several calls of "here we go," as they were expecting the police to subdue the man. He gets more vocal with the cop, egged on by the crowd, feeling the power of incitement.

And this is where things could have gotten ugly, and the video would not have been of a fool trying to make fools of the cops, but the cops in yet another ugly clip of using force, maybe crossing into "excessive," to subdue the man.

But asked if the cops used proper restraint, Ambrose bristled and said, "Let's not mix restraint with not doing their jobs. I'm getting calls from people saying, 'Why didn't they arrest him? Instead, they just let him walk away. There's $5,000 of damage to the cars. It's not the money, it's the fact they didn't do their jobs."

The man was later arrested and identified as Althariq Aulston, 18.

For the city force trying to change its reputation, the non-action by the officers was a little too kinder and gentler. The Newark police remain under a consent decree after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found evidence of excessive force, unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures, and racial discrimination in arrests.

One other charge was police retaliated against people who tried to observe or record police activity. That certainly didn't happen Saturday, as the cellphone users jockeyed for position to get unobstructed views of the non-confrontation without police objection.

"We still have to do our jobs," Ambrose said. "This sends the wrong message. The majority of our 1,100 officers work hard and would have handled it as they are trained. There is no room in the NPD for non-workers looking for a paycheck. Their fellow officers and Newark residents don't deserve that type of disservice."

Ambrose said a review of the incident included footage from the body cameras of the officers at the scene.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," he said. "We want truth and transparency, and we got it."

For better or worse.

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkDiIonno. Find NJ.com on Facebook.