A heated confrontation caught on video led to a New York police chief being placed on leave.
Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski was placed on administrative leave after his girlfriend, identified by the city as Susan Rice, was charged in connection with an altercation in Johnson City, according to PBS affiliate WSKG.
Zikuski was present during the incident but was off-duty and not involved.
A video originally posted on Facebook showed Rice arguing with a group of people, including two teenagers, who were sitting on a porch. During the argument, Rice told the family “We are the police” before asking, “What do you do, Section 8?”
Further into the clip, Rice rushed onto the porch and seemingly hitting two individuals, a 16-year-old resident and an 18-year-old visitor, per Johnson City police.
An individual behind the camera struck Rice and knocked her to the ground. Chief Zikuski made his way to the porch and attempted to lift her up and carry her away.
The cause of the dispute was not made clear.
Rice was not arrested at the scene on Friday but later went to the Johnson City Police Department on Monday (July 21), where she was interviewed, arrested, and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, and second-degree trespass. She was released with an appearance ticket.
Before Rice’s arrest, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham stated she is a “private citizen” who is not employed by nor affiliated with the city “in any official capacity.”
Zikuski, who served as Binghamton’s police chief since 2008, was previously placed on paid administrative leave for over three months following a sexual harassment allegation, which was later dropped.