Cincinnati Police released the bodycam footage of the officer who tased an 11-year-old girl for shoplifting.
Officer Kevin Brown, who is black, used his stun gun on Donesha Gowdy after she refused to stop walking when he tried to apprehend her for shoplifting. The video begins moments after Brown shocked the girl in her back, reports WCPO.
Ohio Cop tases 11-year old Black girl for shoplifting
•Gives no warning
•Blames her for getting tased
•Tells her "This is why there arent any grocery stores in the Black community”If you use violent force on an 11-year-old child you belong in prisonpic.twitter.com/sWcAUjR1HH
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) September 6, 2018
In the footage, Brown lectured the girl for refusing to obey his commands.
"You don't have any receipts for any of this stuff. So guess what: you get to claim all of this," Brown said. "Sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is tase you like that. You know you're caught. When I say, 'Stop,' just stop. That hurt my heart to do that to you. Then I got to listen to all these idiots in the parking lot telling me how I was wrong for tasing you. You broke the law and you fled, and I was trying to apprehend you."
The officer also blamed shoplifting for a lack of grocery stores in the black community and called witnesses who criticized his actions “idiots.”
“This is why there aren't any grocery stores in the black community, because of all this going on," Brown said.
Brown is later seen comforting the girl as medics removed the barbs from her back.
The incident occurred at a Kroger on August 6 when an employee alerted Brown about a group of kids shoplifting from the store. As Gowdy tried to leave with her friends, Brown verbally commanded her to stop. When she ignored him, he used his stun gun. She had taken $53.81 in merchandise and when questioned about baby clothes in her backpack, Gowdy said one of her friends had a little brother. She was initially charged with theft and obstruction but charges were eventually dropped.
The police department reviews all incidents that prompted use of force and during their investigation of this incident, they determined Brown violated several polices.
The polices, according to police records, include Brown turning on his body camera after he stunned the girl, using the weapon without alerting Gowdy, using the taser in a situation that did not require use of force and expressing prejudice by commenting on grocery stores in the black community.
Police Chief Elliot Isaac said Brown is facing hearing and the department is considering altering their policy, according to WLWT. The current policy allows use of force for people between the ages of 7 and 70 years old.
"A lot of places have moved to, instead of specifying age specifically, that they talk about small children. Considering the stature and size of the individual you're using force against," Isaac said.
The Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police stands by Brown.
“The chief of police made up his mind before any investigation, before he knew the facts. He heard the age of the juvenile suspect and made a judgement call. Once he made up his mind, he wasn’t going to change his mind,” said Order president Sgt. Dan Hils.
Hils also believes critics are being too sensitive about Brown’s commentary.
“Everything has become so political and so emotional and it comes down to words. If I say there is a correlation between theft and retail locations, everyone would say, ‘That’s true,’" Hils said.
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