Baltimore Police Officer Coughing Video Reassigned: Coronavirus

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore police officer has been removed from his post and reassigned as a video showing him walking through a housing project while allegedly coughing on residents is investigated.

In the midst of the new coronavirus pandemic, the the video when viral on Instagram a week ago and has more than 147,000 views. Authorities said the officer was being investigated and CBS Baltimore reported Monday that the police department confirmed his reassignment. (Editor's note: the video contains profanity and may be offensive.)

As part of the investigation by the Baltimore Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau the unnamed officer's body-worn camera footage is also under review.

"What we saw in the video is alarming because this pandemic is affecting lives not only nationally, worldwide but right here in our own police department," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in a statement last week.

As of Monday morning, Baltimore City had 873 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 26 deaths from COVID-19. The Maryland Department of Health reported that almost 9,000 people have tested positive and 262 have died.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the coughing incident occurred around Perkins Homes in southeast Baltimore.

"This is not behavior that we want our police officers or any of our public servants to model to our residents," Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott said in a statement Tuesday. "COVID-19 is not a joke, and this behavior is beyond unacceptable."