A Prince George’s County, Maryland, police officer has been suspended after a video circulating on social media appears to show a uniformed officer embracing a woman and then getting into the back seat of a police cruiser with her.
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Prince George’s County police identified the officer as Cpl. Francesco Marlett.
On Tuesday, police said they have launched an internal investigation.
“PGPD Executive Command is aware of a video circulating on social media with one of our officers,” the police department posted on social media Tuesday morning. “As soon as we became aware earlier today, we opened an investigation to determine the circumstances. Additional information will be released once investigated and confirmed.”
The video first began circulating on TikTok and has been viewed more than 2 million times.
“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 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.”
“We ask that our officer be given the same consideration that any other person would ask for in that you reserve judgement until all of the facts are known and the videos are put into context,” the police union said.
WTOP has reached out, but the department said they are not releasing any further comments at this time. WTOP has also reached out to the suspended officer.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano and Mike Murillo contributed to this report.