A Maryland police officer has been suspended after a now-viral video captured him appearing to kiss a woman at a park near a school and then get in the back of his police cruiser with her.
The Prince George’s County Police officer, identified as Francesco Marlett, was pulled from active duty Tuesday, shortly after authorities became aware of the video, the department said.
“His police powers are now suspended as the investigation continues,” it said in a statement.
The video posted to social media shows the uniformed officer embracing a woman next to the vehicle as children appear to play soccer in a nearby field. The woman then leads him to the backseat of the car, which they enter together.
The couple remained in the vehicle for about 40 minutes before they exited and left in separate vehicles, the man who reportedly filmed the video and shared it on a relative’s TikTok account told The Baltimore Banner.
“Something didn’t seem right,” the man, only identified as Nelson O, told the Banner of his decision to record the officer who he said was standing around looking “suspicious” before the woman pulled up.
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“It was concerning because there’s kids around,” he said. “It just seemed off because this is the person that you’re supposed to call for suspicious activity doing the suspicious activity, you know.”
This is Marlett’s second suspension from the police force, according to local reports.
He was previously charged in 2016 for child abuse after allegedly knocking his girlfriend’s 3-year-old child unconscious after the child soiled his bed. Charges in that incident were later dropped and his record was expunged, local station WJLA reported.
Marlett was also reportedly suspended for a month in May after being accused of domestic violence.
The police department did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment. Marlett’s wife told WJLA that they do not have an open marriage.
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