Fort Lauderdale Cop Charged with Battery for Slapping Homeless Man

Officer Slaps Homeless Man Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Cop Charged with Battery for Slapping Homeless Man

Officer Slaps Hoeless ManFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 6 (UPI) — Victor Ramirez, the Fort Lauderdale police officer filmed slapping a homeless man across the face, has been charged with three misdemeanor charges.

Ramirez, 34, was charged with two counts of battery and one count of falsifying records on Monday. He was filmed slapping Bruce Laclair, 58, while Laclair was attempting to use a restroom and was arrested by Ramirez for trespassing.

 

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department placed Ramirez on administrative leave after a video of the incident went viral across the Internet. The city’s manager labeled it as a “disturbing” situation and an investigation was initiated.

“I’ll push you down to the ground, and I’ll beat you up if you [expletive] try to fight me,” Ramirez is heard in a video of the incident in February. “That’s what’s going to happen.”

Ramirez later said Laclair swore at him when he asked Laclair to leave. When escorting Laclair out of the terminal, Ramirez claims he “pulled away from [me] in a violent manner. I reacted by pushing Laclair away from me to keep him from attacking me.”

A young couple filmed the video, which contains profanity.

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