WATCH: Black Teens Pushed Out Of White Town With Pepper Spray, Physical Force

Grainy video showed police officers pushing out a group of black youth from a New Jersey neighborhood last year during July 4. Officers were seen organizing the teenagers into a succession, instructing them to walk to a neighboring city. The footage started to go viral Thursday.

A group of about 12 police officers was seen coercing a group of mostly young black people down a road. Police allegedly used pepper spray to keep the crowd in line. Officers claimed they struggled to maintain order during the incident, which prompted them to force the group to leave.

Last year, members of the Maplewood Police Department attempted to disband the group of young people by pushing them off the streets and into the predominately black town of Irvington, even though most of them were residents of the predominantly white towns South Orange and Maplewood. Police arrested four teenagers, and one officer was accused of spitting at them.

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Township officials suspended the police chief Tuesday. They demanded that he resign when officials released audio of the police chief ordering his subordinates to push the group out. Chief Robert Cimino was suspended for 60 days with pay and Capt. Joshua Cummis was suspended for 30 days after local news site, The Village Green, identified the voices on the tape as those of the two officers.

Essex County police officers and Mark Deuer of the Essex County Chiefs of Police supported Cimino. Deuer, who issued a statement of support of his colleague, serves as chief of the North Caldwell Police Department.

"Chief Cimino is a true leader who has always served with pride, distinction, integrity and transparency," Deuer said Wednesday in a statement to local news site New Jersey 101.5. "Chief Cimino has a proven track record of being a fair and impartial law enforcement executive.”

He continued, "Our association wholeheartedly supports Chief Rober Cimino of The Maplewood Police Department. Chief Cimino is a true leader who has always served with pride, distinction, integrity and transparency. Chief Cimino has a proven track record of being a fair and impartial law enforcement executive."

This month marked one year since questions first arose regarding how police treated the group, specifically around their use of pepper spray and physical force. Officials hadn't released recordings of the audio until this month. An investigation by the Essex County Office prevented the Township Committee from reviewing the tapes until now.

Walter Fields, chairman of the South Orange/Maplewood Black Parents Workshop, told New Jersey 101.5 Wednesday that he thought the committee made the right decision suspending the officers.

"I think the evidence was just so overwhelming for this community that the Township Committee had no choice but to remove the chief,” he said.

He added, "Doing anything other than that, after your community has viewed these horrific video tapes and listened to the audio of the chief giving the commands, I think would have not only sent a dangerous signal to Maplewood, but it would actually have incited significant outrage from the community."

Tuesday night’s meeting was during National Night Out, which is intended to get civilians and police together. Fields said it was a chance for the community to support each other and chime in on what the police department’s actions.