Source: Bill Pugliano / Getty
The neverending cycle of Black people being mistreated by police continues.
Sadly the latest incident involves a 12-year-old Black kid in Lansing, Michigan. He was taking the garbage out in his family’s community, and while en route to the complex’s dumpster, he was wrongfully placed in handcuffs by police. Soon after, his father comes out in protest.
“They traumatized my son,” the man says in the video after the child was placed in the back of an officer’s vehicle.
Moments later, he was released as police revealed that he matched the description of another person responsible for a string of nearby Kia thefts, according to NBC News.
The entire interaction was caught on TikTok as the distraught child looks on while his father speaks to the police about the alleged case of mistaken identity.
According to the Lansing State Journal, Lansing police released a statement on the matter on Facebook explaining the detainment.
“On Thursday afternoon, our officers were investigating a string of Kia thefts, including a specific one reported on the 3600 block of W. Jolly Road with multiple suspects,” the first post on Facebook said. “A witness described a suspect as wearing neon shorts and a white shirt. A responding officer saw a subject matching this description and attempted to make contact but the subject fled and ran west in to the nearby apartment complex.”
The statement explains that a different member of law enforcement thought the kid, who was just taking out the garbage, fit the description, so he engaged.
“A different officer was in the area and saw the young man pictured in the viral video wearing a very similar outfit and made contact with him. The initial officer was able to respond and clarify the young man in the video was not the suspect who fled earlier. Once this information was obtained, the young man was released and officers continued to search the area.”
The Lansing PD wants to move on from the incident and apologized to the family while offering him support after traumatizing him.
“Community relations is a top priority for us as a department, from top-down. Our hope is we can put this unfortunate case of “wrong place, wrong time” behind us and continue to represent the community that we serve,” the department wrote. “The commanding officer on the scene made contact with the young man’s father and explained the situation and apologized for the misunderstanding. I have reviewed the incident and can confirm the officer who contacted and detained the young man was respectful and professional during his investigation.”
Social media is outraged about the alleged racial profiling. See the reactions below.
