Criminal probe under way on claim that officer spat on man

Baltimore police have arrested a man they say drove the getaway auto after a still unidentified suspect shot a 9-year-old girl playing on her front stoop.

Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said earlier Tuesday that the video shows the officer’s body and head move forward in a way that indicates he may have spit on the man under arrest, handcuffed and on the ground. A bystander is heard yelling “He just spit on him, he just spit on on him”.

The video, posted on Twitter by an activist named Kwame Rose, prompted T.J. Smith, Baltimore Police Department Director of Media Relations, to issue a statement stating that an internal investigation is underway.

Mesner could not be reached immediately for comment.

Daye faces attempted first- and second-degree murder charges, first- and second-degree assault charges, reckless endangerment and various gun charges.

The Baltimore Police Department is due to roll out body-worn cameras for officers soon to help lend transparency to police interactions with the community.

“We’re hoping that his arrest today will quickly lead to the identification of the trigger-puller”, Davis said. The incident was captured on video.

Davis believes that police will find the shooter.

Tensions between officers and citizens have escalated since the April death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a spinal injury in custody.