In footage released by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the video taken from the back of the school bus shows a police officer telling a student: “You think you’re funny. Smile in my face one more time, and I’ll be dragging your [expletive] off this bus and back to that [expletive] police car. Don’t smile one more time.”
That same officer, who has been reprimanded for this behavior, is now the subject of harsh harassment from unidentified individuals over the incident, leading his chief to cite concerns about the officer’s safety.
“Right now, it’s basically a safety issue because we’re getting a lot of anonymous threats by phone and email and just don’t want to put his name out there,” said the police chief.
He added that he did not put much stock in the threats. The officer has submitted a resignation letter, and has accepted another policing job in another area.
According to the mayor, the incident that led to the fateful interaction occured after a bus driver returning from the school flagged down the officer for help because the students “were out of hand,” as children were throwing things at cars from the bus windows.
