Updated: 5:25 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020
The Shaker Heights police officer who made an obscene gesture at demonstrators outside the presidential debate in Cleveland last month has been fired.
In a letter sent Thursday, Shaker Heights Police Chief Jeff DeMuth informed Cpl. Michael Spuzzillo of the decision to terminate.
According to DeMuth鈥檚 letter, Spuzzillo broke 11 of the department鈥檚 rules and standards when he flashed a middle finger at demonstrators while driving an unmarked police van outside the Sept. 29 debate site.
During the internal investigation, Spizzullo explained that he 鈥渕omentarily lost it鈥� when he made the obscene gesture.
March completely peaceful- only tense moment when the crowd crossed paths with Shaker Heights Police. Reporting for 鈥� Jenny Hamel (@JennyHamel_)
Spizzullo was a Shaker officer for 18 years of his 24 years in law enforcement. According to an attorney for the Ohio Patrolmen鈥檚 Benevolent Association, he was less than a year from retiring with a full pension.
鈥淗e said he is remorseful,鈥� said Dominic Saturday, the OPBA attorney handling Spizzullo鈥檚 case. 鈥淗e understands he may have caused the chief and some other folks some grief.鈥�
The chief said in his letter the act was 鈥渟o provocative it could have caused a riot.鈥�
鈥淎s a Shaker Heights police officer for over 18 years, you should be keenly aware of the culture of the community you serve and that many citizens are allies to the Black Lives Matter movement,鈥� wrote DeMuth. 鈥淵our actions prove that, at the very least, you are indifferent to those concerns.鈥�
Saturday said the union has already appealed the decision.
Copyright 2021 90.3 WCPN ideastream. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
