Baltimore Police Officer Arrested for Assaulting Desk

Baltimore Police Officer Kevin Battipaglia was charged with destroying property in the Northeast District police station, on Oct. 28, 2018. (Baltimore Police Department)

A Baltimore police officer recently acquitted on charges of assaulting a suspect has been charged with assaulting a desk.

Baltimore Police Officer Kevin Battipaglia had been charged with first-degree assault after he allegedly beat a suspect with his baton on Christmas Eve.

After chasing and catching 21-year-old Darrian Carr, Battipaglia allegedly struck Carr in the face with his nightstick, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Both the prosecution and the defense stipulated that Carr had been hit in the face by officer Battipaglia’s baton. The force of the blow fractured Carr’s jaw, WBNG reported.

Battipaglia’s attorneys claimed that the blow was accidental. They pointed out that the wound was small, consistent with the tip of the baton hitting Carr while the officer was catching him. The wound would have been larger had Battipaglia swung the baton and struck Carr with the shaft, a forensic pathologist testified.

Battipaglia was acquitted on Oct. 11 after a three-day trial for a number of reasons. Battipaglia’s body camera did not capture an image of the blow, a friend of Carr’s who witnessed the act couldn’t see clearly what happened, and a training officer said he couldn’t tell if the blow was intentional or accidental.

According to CBS News, Darrian Carr’s attorney, Latoya Francis Williams, is planning to file a civil lawsuit.

Assault on a Desk

Now three weeks later Battipaglia is back in the news, and headed to court once again.

Battipaglia apparently lost his temper and—allegedly—kicked a hole in the front desk in the Northeast District police station. The incident was captured on station house surveillance cameras.

According to The Sun, Battipaglia got irritated when a lieutenant told him he would have to work on Halloween.

“Battipaglia threw his cellphone to the ground from behind the front desk,” said police documents, according to The Sun.

“While retrieving it, he then ’mule kicked' the front of the front desk punching a sizable hole in it. Due to kicking the desk with such force he created a mess of the desk and fractured drywall,” the documents continued said The Sun.

The police report states that Battipaglia cleaned up the scene with a dustpan and broom. The officer then tried to cover the hole in the desk by taping a poster over it.

He then headed out the front door—which he slammed so hard, he broke the glass.

According to the police report, “From the impact of his hand, the glass door ‘spider-webbed’.”

According to WMAR, Battipaglia has been charged with one count of malicious destruction of property valued at less than $1,000.

Battipaglia is 33 years old and has been with the Baltimore Police Department for five years.

He has been suspended without pay. The Baltimore Police Department would not comment on whether the officer had been suspended after the latest arrest.

The officer’s trial has been set for Dec. 10 in Baltimore District Court. Battipaglia faces a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

From NTD.tv