A Black teen in Florida is reportedly dealing with trauma after being attacked by police for crossing the street. The incident occurred on May 13 after the 16-year-old was leaving work at a Publix, according to the Tampa Bay Time.
According to a Facebook post submitted by the boy’s father, Chico Powell, the teen crossed the street when a cop flashed his light and put on his siren, yelling at the kid to walk in the crosswalk. The teen reportedly had earbuds in his ears and didn’t initially hear the cop.
The cop allegedly grabbed the teen, pushed him on to the squad car and began roughing him up. He also questioned the teen about carrying drugs and a weapon. After searching the teen, the cop did not find any drugs or weapons. Other police showed up at the scene.
The teen started crying, apologized and ask the officers several times if he could call his mother.
The following day, Powell posted his thoughts on the abuse his son endured. In one day, the post has been shared over 22K times.
“My son was so hysterical he couldn’t even tell me the story of what happened,” Powell wrote. “He was crying so much you gotta see me in court. I made it my life duty for my kids to never have to live life the way I did. My sons have never seen drugs. No matter how good we try to live our lives, y’all only gone see us as one thing. We’ll see y’all in court because at no time did one of the six officers try to contact his parents. So basically y’all kidnapped my son and held him against his own will.”
Clearwater police Chief Dan Slaughter learned of the incident from the Facebook post and has opened an investigation.
