Tulsa police have launched an internal investigation following the detainment of two Black teenagers who were accused of jaywalking. The incident led to both teens being handcuffed, and one teen was ultimately arrested, the Tulsa World reports.
The incident occurred last week, where two officers, one on foot and the other in a vehicle, can be seen from their body camera perspectives stopping the teens.
The officer on foot runs straight up toward one of the boys grabbing him by his upper arms. The teen who was grabbed starts struggling, even as the other boy starts demanding to know what they had done wrong.
“He’s jaywalking,” an officer could be heard saying.
“Why you trying to choke his neck?” the other teen, who has not been grabbed, demands.
“Nobody’s choking him,” an officer replies.
“You’re choking him,” the teen insists.
Eventually, at least one officer forces the struggling teen to the ground, before he is put in handcuffs, even as he lies prone on his stomach.
The officers then say that they had just wanted to talk to the teen (while grabbing his arms, mind you), but then “he had to act the fool like that,” prompting the apprehension.
“I appreciate you being cool,” the officer adds to the teen who is still demanding answers.
The second teen, whom officers said was not being “aggressive,” is also handcuffed.
“You want to see me in jail or dead,” the struggling teen says as he accuses officers of targeting because of his race.
The incident goes on for about 20 minutes, with one teen struggling against officers as they try to put him in the squad car.
“Call my mama!” the boy yells.
“Chill out, bro. It’s not worth it,” the second teen urges.
Some 15 minutes into a video, an adult Black man can be seen asking officers what they are doing to the boys.
“You don’t have to do all that,” he insists. “I’m watching you assault that little boy right there.”
One of the officers threatens to arrest him as well if he doesn’t “get out of the street.”
“This arrest is also under investigation by our Internal Affairs Unit, as such, we are unable to comment on this arrest until the conclusion of the investigation,” Tulsa police said in a statement. In addition to the statement, they also released the body camera footage.
At the end of the video, the second teen was released from handcuffs and given instructions on how to avoid jaywalking. The other teen who was struggling was still detained in the squad car.