The Baltimore Police Department is investigating one of its officers after a 13-year-old boy was unnecessarily manhandled and brutally arrested.
The teen, Deontay, and his 11-year-old sister were reportedly searching for their cat in a neighbor's yard when police were called on them. According to WBAL, the neighbor thought someone was breaking into her home, but when police showed up, things took a turn for the worse.
Several video clips captured by neighbors and witnesses showed Deontay and his sister being ordered by officers to sit on a stoop. While that clip ends abruptly, another one showed a physical altercation between Deontay and an officer.
"He told them, 'Get on the ground.' I said, 'No, they ain't getting on no ground,'" Deontay's mother, Kimberly Townes, told WBAL. "She 11, and he's 13. They not getting on the ground. So I told them, 'Come on.' When I said that, he grabbed my son, like close armed him, hit him down, tried to get the handcuffs on him, then he started closed fisting my son."
The officer claimed he began hitting Deontay because he tried to grab his "testicles." According to Townes, her son also has a mental disability — further reasoning that this situation should have been handled better.
The clip also showed the officer angrily pushing Deontay into his vehicle and slamming the door.
“I’m about to send this kid to the f**king hospital," he yelled as he walked away. He then turned around and said, “If I see him again, I’m going to beat the s**t out of him!”
The amount of anger and eagerness to mutilate the young black boy stunned onlookers who gasped at the officer's threats. Another officer eventually called an ambulance.
"I still can feel it — a little knot — and I got a black eye, my teeth and stuff," Deontay said of his injuries.
Baltimore police spokesman T.J. Smith told news outlets the department’s Office of Professional Standards is looking into the incident, the Calgary Sun reports. On Wednesday, July 26, police issued a statement regarding the unfortunate incident:
"This was clearly a very hectic and chaotic scene that the officers were dispatched to. We take these matters very seriously and Commissioner Tuggle has demonstrated his commitment to transparency and accountability. This case is being reviewed by the Office of Professional Responsibility as we speak, and that would include the video clips taken by civilians and posted to social media, as well as the police officers body worn cameras, that we hope provide a more conclusive version of events from start to finish."
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