“I know the officer’s actions seen on these videos have sparked a range of emotions in the community and put a negative spotlight on this agency and the many hardworking women and men who wear our uniform."
An internal investigation is already underway on a Maryland officer captured on video going into the back seat of a police cruiser with a woman.
Now, Prince George’s County police want to talk to anyone who can shed light on the interactions between the woman and the suspended officer — later identified as Cpl. Francesco Marlett.
The police department said it was aware of two videos showing interaction between Marlett and the woman.
One video began circulating on TikTok on Tuesday and has been viewed more than 2 million times. When police became aware of the video that same day, the internal affairs department opened an investigation into Marlett, while police Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz suspended him.
“I know the officer’s actions seen on these videos have sparked a range of emotions in the community and put a negative spotlight on this agency and the many hardworking women and men who wear our uniform,” Aziz said in a statement.
“As part of its investigation, the Internal Affairs Division is attempting to interview all parties involved as well as citizens with knowledge of the interactions,” a police news release said.
Recommendations on charges or disciplinary actions will be made when the investigation is complete. The department’s Police Accountability Board will also review the investigation.
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“I couldn’t believe what I was recording because it’s not something that you see everyday, a cop going to the back of a patrol car in the uniform to do … I don’t know what,” said Nelson Ochoa, the Clinton, Maryland, man who took the video. “It was a public park with kids running around.”
Ochoa brought his children to play soccer at Carson Park in Oxon Hill on the evening of Labor Day and said he discreetly recorded when he noticed what was happening.
The video that made rounds on Tuesday appears to show Marlett embracing a woman in front of a marked Prince George’s County police cruiser and then following her into the back seat and closing the door.
The Fraternal Order of Police in Prince George’s County told WTOP that they have “no information as to the investigation of the videos or the officer involved.” The union asked that the officer be given the same consideration as any other person and that judgment be reserved until all the facts are known.
Prince George’s County police said that they conducted administrative investigations on Marlett in 2019 after a Calvert County judge denied a petition for a peace order; and again in 2023, this time after a Charles County judge denied a petition for a final protective order.
Prince George’s County police said they took those allegations seriously and the internal investigation ruled the allegations against Marlett to be unfounded, the news release said.
In 2016, Marlett was disciplined over charges of unbecoming conduct/child abuse and unbecoming conduct/assault, second degree. The police department removed him from the next promotional cycle and fined him ,500.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to contact Prince George’s County police detectives.
WTOP’s Jack Moore, Dick Uliano and Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
