Photo: Moment RF
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is under fire after video showed officers arresting a 12-year-old Black boy for allegedly riding his bike recklessly.
Video of the incident last month shows officers handcuffing the boy in the back of a police cruiser. In now-viral video, one officer tells bystanders that the boy was being detained for "recklessly driving into traffic."
Bystanders questioned the officers' decision to arrest the boy, especially since he didn't hit a vehicle.
“So if he ain’t hit no car, it should’ve been a warning,” a witness said, to which an officer responded, “That’s not how it works.”
During the incident, officers maintained that the 12-year-old "recklessly driving" his bike was "illegal," and it "doesn't matter if they're a kid."
The boy’s mother, Jasmine Ervin, said her son was with friends during a group “ride-out” downtown when police began following them. Ervin said her son fled out of fear, but officers caught up with him about a mile from home.
“They absolutely did go too far. He’s 12, he’s 89 pounds,” Ervin told WBTV. “All his innocence is just gone… [CMPD] could’ve called me, they could have brought him home. They didn’t have to put him in handcuffs like that.”
Police said the child was charged with reckless driving and released to his mother the same day. In a statement, CMPD confirmed the arrest and said the department’s Central Division “regularly responds to reports of individuals riding bicycles in a manner that poses a danger to themselves or others.”
The incident remains under investigation.
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