Two Tulsa police officers are slammed after video footage captures them arresting two Black teens for jaywalking, taking one of the teens into custody.
What We Know:
- This incident has sparked criticism from the mayor and the head of coalition of Black officers. Two teens are seen on video walking down the middle of the street when the officers approach them. The officers handcuff the boys and one of the officers tackles the boy and pins him down with his knees. The other boy questions why the officer is being so aggressive saying, “Why are you putting your hands on him?”
- The first boy, who was handcuffed, said to the officers, “You want to see me in jail or dead.” He referenced George Floyd and told the officer he couldn’t breathe while he was pinned down. He resisted getting put into the police car. A bystander who saw the incident stopped and questioned the officers’ motivation for arresting the teens. The officers threatened to arrest him if he continued to question them. They got the first teen handcuffed into the car and let the second teen go.
- Tulsa Police Department said they have received messages over the weekend regarding the arrest of the two teens. G.T. Bynum, Tulsa’s mayor released a statement on Facebook saying, “I want every kid in Tulsa to feel safe to walk down the street in their neighborhood. I know the officers in that unit focus on removal of illegal guns from the streets, but the goal of that work should be that families feel safe in their neighborhood. This instance accomplished the opposite.”
- Marcus Harper, president of the Tulsa Black Officers says this is the culture of policing. He says the incident happened in his neighborhood and it raised the question, “Are you policing other communities the exact same way?” and the answer was no, that this was not happening in other parts of town.
As of Tuesday, an internal investigation is in the works. Harper says the investigation will be “tight-lipped.”
