GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Minutes after telling two teens to get out of the street, a Grand Rapids officer had his weapon drawn.
"You could have just told us to hop out of the street and we could have kept on walking," one of the teens can be heard telling the cop in police body camera footage.
The footage was played in a press conference Monday as GRPD responded to two videos circulating on social media. One of those videos, taken by a bystander, documented the detainment of a 15 and 16-year-old last week on Lynch Street SW. The officer can be heard telling the boys they were being questioned for walking in the middle of the street.
"I decided to get out and talk to you," the officer says.
NAACP of Greater Grand Rapids President Cle Jackson said the officer's decision to stop and question the boys would likely not have happened in a different neighborhood.
"Both of the teens went to the sidewalk. He then asked for their names...why was that even necessary? They are walking on a residential street, clearly they weren't doing anything, but walking. It should have been over. That does raise the question of: Were they profiled?" Jackson said Monday after viewing the bodycam video.
Grand Rapids Interim Police Chief David Kiddle said the officer had been assigned to spend extra time in that neighborhood due to the "high number of violent crimes" in 2019 and due to "consistent gang graffiti that indicates potential violence."
Kiddle said the incident would not have escalated had the teens complied from the get-go.
When the two teens don't initially give their names and ages, the officer calls for emergency backup.
The officer tells the teens to put their hands on their heads or give their names. One teen provides his name and personal information, but the other refrains.
"If he tells you his name, are you going to leave us alone?" the compliant teen asks.
"I am going to check and make sure you got no warrants or anything, and get you on your way," the officer replies.
After viewing the video, Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack said people of color are routinely questioned more thoroughly.
"I think the police in that community believe that people may be associated with other crimes," Womack said Monday.
Both boys had given their full names and ages when one of them starts to turn away, saying he has somewhere to be. The officer grabs onto the boy telling him to put his hands on top of his head, calling again for backup.
The officer yells that they are under arrest with his gun drawn as the boys repeatedly ask what they did. Once backup arrives, the officer informs the responding officer that one of the boys has been "reaching for his waistband."
The teenagers are told to lay on the ground as they are handcuffed. The officer says one of them is under arrest for failing to identify himself. That teen was later booked into juvenile detention for resisting arrest.
Before cuffing and detaining the second teen, the officer instructs the responding officer to draw his weapon.
"The officer decided to arrest them due to their failure to cooperate and provide basic information," Kiddle said during the press conference.
The interim police chief said the officer showed professionalism, restraint and appropriate demeanor.
"In the end, no further physical force was used and the officers were able to secure both individuals without anyone getting hurt," Kiddle said.
The chief also said this case is a good reminder for the community: "Officers' actions are determined by the individual they are having contact with."
Commissioner Womack said the boys should not have been put in this position to begin with.
"Something needs to be done so that [police] know you cannot continue to harass people, but I do not think it would need to be to the level of firing," Womack said.
Watch the full footage here:
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