Another incident of police brutality has gone viral. On June 9, Tulsa Police Department released bodycam video of two Black teens being harassed by authorities for jaywalking on a residential street without car traffic.
In the video, two White police officers, who have yet to be identified, followed two Black teens as they walked through a neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Within seconds of calling for the two teens to stop walking, the officers grabbed one of the teens without telling him why they were being stopped. The officers threw that teen to the ground and put him in handcuffs as the other teen asked why they were being detained.
The police claimed that they were jaywalking before choking the teen, who was in handcuffs and forcefully throwing him into the squad car.
“All he was doing was jaywalking,” one officer said. “We just want to talk with him. Then he had to act a fool like that.”
Although the other teen was more patient and attempting to understand why they were being detained, the cops also put him in handcuffs.
The video serves as another reminder of the ongoing abuse that Blacks face by law enforcement. Following the untimely death of George Floyd, millions of people around the world have decided to take a stand when it comes to racial inequality and police brutality.
Tulsa’s Mayor G.T. Bynum responded to the teen’s detainment on a Facebook post. “I want every kid in Tulsa to feel safe to walk down the street in their neighborhood,” Bynum wrote. “No Tulsa kid should have to fear being tackled and cuffed for walking down the street.”
Tulsa Police have said that the officers involved in detaining the teens are currently under investigation, according to Tulsa World. Police have yet to reveal if the teens were charged with a crime or if the cops have been reprimanded.
View video of the incident after the jump (NSFW)
