The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a viral video in which an angry officer can be seen manhandling a 13-year-old boy with a mental disability.
The boy, Deontay, was said to have been looking for a cat in a neighbor’s yard with his 11-year-old sister when the cops were called. A neighbor apparently thought a burglary was taking place.
But what started as a mere misunderstand quickly escalated based on numerous videos taken of the police’s actions once they arrived on the scene.
Videos captured by neighbors and witnesses showed Deontay and his sister being ordered by officers to sit on a stoop. Another clip shows an interaction in which an officer becomes physical with Deontay. His mother Kimberly Townes can be seen trying to intervene during the hectic incident.
“He told them, ‘Get on the ground.’ I said, ‘No, they ain’t getting on no ground,’” she told WBAL. “She 11, and he’s 13. They not getting on the ground. So I told them, ‘Come on.’ When I said that, he grabbed my son, like close armed him, hit him down, tried to get the handcuffs on him, then he started closed fisting my son.”
Another shocking clip also shows the officer angrily pushing Deontay into his police vehicle.
“I’m about to send this kid to the f**king hospital,“ he yelled. “If I see him again, I’m going to beat the s**t out of him!”
A separate officer eventually called an ambulance to treat Deontay’s injuries.
The police department’s spokesman released a statement that the incident was being investigated.
“This was clearly a very hectic and chaotic scene that the officers were dispatched to,” it said. “We take these matters very seriously and Commissioner Tuggle has demonstrated his commitment to transparency and accountability. This case is being reviewed by the Office of Professional Responsibility as we speak, and that would include the video clips taken by civilians and posted to social media, as well as the police officers body worn cameras, that we hope provide a more conclusive version of events from start to finish.”