It took less than a minute.
After less than a month on the job, Joe Sullivan is facing his first leadership crisis over an altercation between two of his officers and two teenagers at a southside skating rink.
There is a cell-phone video that has been shared all over the internet. The mother of a 15-year-old girl who was part of the fracas, as well as two state lawmakers, addressed the City Council on Tuesday and complained that one of the officers used excessive force against a 16-year-old boy.
I would normally give a link to the video, but I won't because the male juvenile is clearly identifiable in the clip
Two officers tried to subdue the teens at the request of the management of the Roller City skating rink. The officers worked as private security for Roller City.
The female officer wrestles with the girl while the male officer fights with the boy.
The officer's conduct is upsetting.
The officer tackles the young person. He raised his fist over his head and hit the boy in the back with it. The officer threw the smaller youth across the room like a rag doll after hitting him with a second punch. The teen was pepper- sprayed by the officer.
There was a male and female officer on top of a female teen on the ground.
The male teen was able to slip the first punch to some extent, because if it had connected solidly, we wouldn't be having this discussion today.
It was the kind of punch that could have killed him.
Don't accept my word for it. The owner and coach of the CHD Boxing Club told the council that the officer had thrown haymakers at the child. The ground and pound technique is used in mixed martial arts.
What happened before and after the altercation isn't shown in the video.
The incident began when the female teen had a confrontation with the skating rink staff and became loud and combative when the officers tried to throw her out, according to police. The male teen is accused of trying to hit the officer in the back of the head.
It is difficult to justify the response shown in the video.
It is similar to last year's death of a 17-year-old who died in custody while being restrained by guards at the juvenile intake and assessment center after police cut corners to send him to lock up instead of treatment.
The mother of the 15-year-old girl testified to the council that she has been traumatised by the incident along with her two other daughters and granddaughter. She said officers kept her daughter in the back of a squad car for hours and laughed at her when she asked to have the girl medically evaluated before she went to JIAC.
Police Chief Sullivan told an Eagle reporter that the male officer has been assigned to desk duty, and he is not going to make any decisions until the investigation is complete.
It's reasonable. We don't want a chief who makes decisions based on incomplete information.
He needs to act quickly.
There is a lack of community patience for these types of incidents in the Black community.
There needs to be a full accounting of what happened after the community saw that video.
With a new chief in charge, transparency is important.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
