ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando police officer has been reassigned after a video of him cursing and yelling at a man in a threatening manner went viral on social media.
A man who identifies himself as Ryan Romasco on his Facebook page first posted the 4-minute video last month. The full, unedited video is available here.
It went viral this weekend when the website Photographyisnotacrime.com shared the video. By Monday afternoon, it had been seen almost 300,000 times.
The video begins with the officer, identified by an Orlando police spokesperson as Jose Sanchez, employed with the department since 2007, ordering Romasco to get out of his car and to walk back to his hotel.
"Get out of the car, get out of the car, get out of the car and walk to the hotel, (expletive)," the officer yelled.
"Wow man, this is crazy," Romasco replied.
The officer radioed that he was in front of the Super Target on Millenia Plaza Way.
"That (expletive) is insane, bro," Romasco said.
"Yeah, insane, you (expletive) little (expletive)," the officer said.
About one minute into the video, the officer ordered Romasco to stay in the car.
"OK, we get the county over here, you ain't going nowhere, bro. This is an active investigation, you're going nowhere," the officer yelled. "If you (expletive) try to pass me mother (expletive), I will (expletive) take you in for battery LEO. I will ruin your (expletive)."
Photographyisnotacrime.com wrote: "Romasco, who lives in West Palm Beach, and was in Orlando helping his father run his store, did not believe the cop had the right to order him away."
According to the website, Romasco began to argue with his father, and police were called.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up," the officer ordered. "And bite your lip all you want, bro, because if you're ready to jump, jump mother (expletive). I've been hit before and all that (expletive). Jump, bro."
Dozens of comments posted below the video encourage Romasco to file a complaint with the officer's supervisors.
"(You) need to email that to the sergeant," one person wrote.
Romasco commented on the postings, "No doubt I would (have) knocked his (expletive) loose (too) if I ain't giva (expletive) bout my freedom."
A spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department said the video is not new and supervisors have seen it.
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"OPD officials were notified of the video by OPD officers and immediately initiated an internal investigation, which is ongoing," Sgt. Wanda Miglio said. "The officer has been reassigned and is currently under investigation by internal affairs for his actions. We take all complaints of officer misconduct very seriously and I can assure you this interaction will be thoroughly investigated."