Dallas cop claims threats to break a teen's neck were meant to calm him down

In a video caught on camera by a 14-year-old Texas boy, a Dallas police officer, Terigi Rossi, is heard yelling threats at the teenager. "If I were you, son, I would shut the f--k up. I'll break your f--king neck," Rossi says, adding, "You're just like your [step]mother. You're a piece of f--king s--t." Rossi is also heard threatening to send the boy to foster care and jail his stepmother for "not listening to me."

But almost more shocking are Rossi's claims after the video came to light. He told investigators that he was just strategically using "verbal judo" on the boy to interrogate him. Threatening to break his neck, Rossi claims, was a "verbal technique that I've used to try to calm down people or suspects in my career with no intention of ever meaning the words I say." He also argued that he put his arm around the boy's neck to comfort him, a move which the teen said choked him.

The confrontation occurred because the teen's stepmother called 911 after her car was towed and then hung up before the 911 operator believed the call was over. Rossi, who was previously removed from the Dallas SWAT team after being found sleeping at work, did not ultimately arrest anyone.

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