A video of police officers breaking up a fight in a
New Jersey mall has sparked outrage over claims that the two teens involved in
the fight, one Black and the other white, were treated differently by
authorities. While the white youngster sat on a nearby couch, police were seen pinning down the Black teenager. The police officers’ acts have been the subject of an investigation.
Also Read: Former ‘American Idol’ star Caleb Andrew Kennedy charged in fatal DUI crash
In the video, the two teens were seen engaging in a verbal dispute at the Bridgewater Commons mall in Bridgewater
Township, New Jersey.
“Get your hand out of my face,” the Black
teen said.
Also Read: New York lifts indoor mask mandates as COVID-19 cases drop
They then started shoving each other, resulting in a scuffle. During the fight, the white teen kicked the black teen to
the ground. Two officers, one male and the other female, rushed to the mall to disengage them.
The white youngster was pushed onto a nearby couch by
the female cop, who urged him to remain there. The male police officer manhandled the
Black teen to the ground and rested his weight on him, and handcuffed him, while the female
officer kneeled on his back to keep him down on the ground.
Also read: A 46-year-old skater aunty wows people with her cool moves: watch
“It’s cause he’s Black. Racially motivated,”
someone can be heard saying in the video’s background.
The white teen is then shown standing over the black
teen, who is being handcuffed by the officers. The black kid is lifted to his
feet as the film ends, while the white youngster sits on the couch.
A Black eighth-grader named Kye and a white high
school student whose name has not been revealed were involved in the brawl,
according to local ABC affiliate ABC 7.
Also Read: Canadian provinces lift COVID restrictions, protests remain
“They basically tackled me to the ground, and
then the male officer put his knee in my back, and then he started putting me
in cuffs,” Kye told ABC 7. “Then the female officer came over and put
her knee on my upper back too, and started helping him put cuffs on me while he
was just sitting down on the couch watching the whole thing.”
Eboné, Kye’s mother, told ABC 7 that she was glad that
her son was safe, but that the two police officers should be fired.
“I had to watch it on mute. I still haven’t
watched it and listened to the sound, I’m baby-stepping my way into watching
it, but it’s just crazy,” she said.
Also read: Allu Arjun’s Srivalli fever reaches Korea, woman nails hook step
“It doesn’t take two cops to hold a 14-year-old
boy down who is not resisting, while the other boy is just going free and still
going off on my son. It just doesn’t make sense,” Eboné told NBC in
an interview on Tuesday.
A letter from Bridgewater Township Mayor Matthew
Moench on Wednesday stated that an investigation into the incident had been
initiated.
“The Township Administration is aware of a video
circulating on social media involving some young people and officers of the
Bridgewater Police Department,” Moench wrote. He added that the local
prosecutor’s office would be conducting an “independent review” of
the incident with the police department’s support.
Also Read: US VP Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, evacuated from Black history event after bomb threat
“Although an investigation is still gathering the
facts about this incident, I’m deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially
disparate treatment in this video,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on
Wednesday. “We’re committed to increasing trust between law enforcement
and the people they serve.”
The Bridgewater Township Police Department stated it
was aware of the incident in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“We recognize that
this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an
internal affairs investigation,” the police department’s statement said.
Also read: Kacha Badam transcends language barriers, gets Haryanvi version
A request for comment from Insider was not immediately
answered by the Bridgewater Township Police Department.
