A Michigan police department admitted that officers wrongly handcuffed a 12-year-old Black boy while he was taking out the trash after video of the incident went viral.
Tashawn Bernard, 12, was taking trash to a dumpster outside of his home last week when he was approached by Lansing police officers. Video of the incident showed the child in handcuffs as officers led him to a police vehicle.
“This was a child,” local activist Tashmica Torok told Fox47. “There were witnesses around him saying he didn’t do it and officers still chose to put him in the back of a cop car.”
His father, Michael Bernard, said he went outside to check on his son after he didn't return home from taking out the trash. In the video, the father appeared to be arguing with officers as his son was in handcuffs.
“I was mad about it,” he said. “My son would never do anything breaking the law. So I rushed over and I said, ‘What’s the problem? Why you have my son in handcuffs?’ Just like that.”
On Friday (August 11), the Lansing Police Department called the arrest an "unfortunate misunderstanding," noting that officers mistook the child for a car theft suspect.
“Community relations is a top priority for us as a department, from top-town,” the department said in a statement. “Our hope is we can put this unfortunate case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ behind us and continue to represent the community that we serve.”
The Bernard family has retained a lawyer to look into possible legal action.
“This has been a traumatic experience for Tashawn and this kind of behavior by officers has to stop,” family attorney Rico Neal said.
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