2nd Richfield officer put on leave after Twitter video of cop hitting teen

RICHFIELD, Minn. (KMSP) - A second Richfield police officer has been put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into a Twitter video of an officer pushing and hitting a teen on Saturday night. The officer seen in the video is also on administrative leave, according to a news release.

At the request of the Richfield Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting an independent investigation into what unfolded the night of Oct. 3.

The teen who took the video tells Fox 9 he was with a large group of friends in two cars both pulled over while leaving Adams Hill Park in Richfield.

He said the officer began getting very agitated, and in the video you can hear him telling another teen to back away.  The officer pushes him, and as they continue talking, the officer hits him across the head.

“The officer was getting really aggressive like he was about to do something,” Mohamed Hayir, who recorded and posted the video, said. “I was like I might as well record this just in case something does happen.”

Richfield police said it began with a call of a "suspicious person" in the park at 6:30 p.m., and the cars were pulled over as a result of that.  They are still investigating what exactly unfolded at the park, but Hayir says his friend was not being disrespectful.

Chief Jay Henthorne met with Somali community activist Omar Jamal and other members of the Somali Human Rights Commission regarding the incident. The department says they are taking the complaint very seriously.