Not only should he NOT keep his job, but he should be facing some kind of a severe penalty on top of what he's getting. Pressures may be high and the woman involved in the scenario was likely not on her best behaviour, but when you abuse the system like this guy has, you should have to face the consequences.
A Rhode Island police officer is fighting to get his job back after an incident that unfortunately - on his part - was caught on tape, as most things seem to be these days has come to light.
Donna Levesque was partying it up at the Twin River Casino in Rhode Island when management asked her to leave due to "unruly behaviour."
While it hasn't been fully reported what all transpired next, she wound up arrested, handcuffed and seated on a roadside curb. I'm guessing she was less than pleasant to the police officer, likely causing a public disturbance and obviously should have known better. BUT, with that said, it does not condone the actions of 47 year old Edward Krawetz, the police officer on duty that night who took her into custody.
Video surveillance of the events show Krawetz, a 12 year veteran with the police force, kicking Levesque in the face with his boot as she sat cuffed at the curb. The kick was powerful enough to knock her to the ground so it wasn't a light tap. Now in court over the matter, Krawetz says he was acting in self defense and claims Levesque had previously kicked him in the shin.
Now maybe that's so and while it's not right, we're talking about a handcuffed, seated woman. We're also talking about an officer who held all the cards and an officer who had a previous record of assault. His last incident was in 2001 when he reportedly attacked a man who was jogging.
Plain and simple his temper got the better of him and he over reacted. There's no question he has a stressful job and a lot on his plate, but this is his job. He's supposed to be a trusted member of society that people can look to to uphold the law and to help. Everybody makes mistakes yes, we're human but this guy needs some kind of counselling and maybe a new line of work. Obviously he has issues. He's been handed a 10 year suspension - without pay (and rightly so) - and he has been ordered to undergo counselling but he's still eligible for a full pension and he's fighting the case in court.
If he wins what kind of message will that send to the general public and to fellow police officers. Some actions can't be overlooked and this case is a prime example.
