A video of a group of Sacramento police officers violently arresting a 12-year-old boy has gone viral and sparked outrage, particularly in its depiction of a bag being placed over the young boy’s head.
According to Daily Mail , a bystander video of the incident was first released by the Facebook group, Black Lives Matter Sacramento on May 8.
In the video, the bystander captures the moment police wrestle 12-year-old Isaiah Downs to the ground.
Two female officers from the police department claimed they saw the boy running away from security at a local carnival and they made the decision to chase him.
As they tackle him to the ground, Downs can be heard asking multiple times to be let go as he tries to escape their grasp.
The man behind the camera told the officers they can’t arrest Downs without his parents being there.
As the boy is guided towards a squad car, he can be seen kicking out at the officers before allegedly spitting on one them.
The officer wipes at her cheek in the video as the security guard assisting them restrains the boy’s head.
“You can’t be choking on him like that. What’re you doing?”
The man with the camera continued to film as the officers attempt to put Downs in the back of the squad car before wrestling him to the ground.
People witnessing the event began to call out “police brutality” as they watched.
Police made the decision to put a “spit hood” over Downs’ face.
The arresting officers later defended their actions, citing the fact that he allegedly spit at an officer “multiple times”.
‘Spit hoods’ are used by officers to protect themselves against exposure to serious infections or diseases.
According to Scary Mommy , using a “spit hood” is standard procedure for adults who are being resisting arrest but it is highly controversial to be used on a 12-year-old.
After the video’s release, people online expressed their outrage at the officers’ violent arrest of the young boy.
People are particularly furious at their decision to use the plastic bag on Downs, as well as their refusal to hand him over to his mother, who was standing nearby.
A police spokesperson has said the boy was eventually released to his mother.
He was cited for battery against a police officer and resisting officers, but for no other crimes.
His mother has come forward and described her fear at witnessing her son being arrested.
Latoya Downs told Fox 40 , “I started getting nervous. My hands started trembling.”
She said the event reminded her of several news stories about black Americans being brutalized and killed by police during arrests.
Latoya also described her son’s reaction to the violent arrest.
“He was crying, he was scared. He was saying, ‘Mama, mama, they won’t let me go,'” she said. “I didn’t know it was gonna get this bad. I said, ‘I’m outraged. I don’t know what to do.'”
Since the original video was released, the Sacramento Police Department have released body cam footage of the incident.
The Police Department have also announced that they will be reviewing the arrest of the 12-year-old, Scary Mommy reported.
Tanya Faison, founder of Black Lives Sacramento, said the police involved “should all be held accountable.”
She also said, “Our police should know how to handle a tiny, 12-year-old boy.”
Since the incident, the Downs family have enlisted the help of civil rights attorneys, Crump Law Firm.
The firm is also in the midst of handling another Black Lives Matter case in the city of Sacramento – Stephon Clark, an African American man who was shot by police while he was unarmed in his grandmother’s yard in 2018.
The law firm has released a video about Downs’ arrest with both Isaiah and his mother present.
In the video, the family’s attorney, Mark T. Harris, explains the reason behind the decision to take legal action.
“We want to make sure that the greater Sacramento community, the state of California and the world is aware of what happened to this young man, who was doing nothing more than trying to enjoy the benefits of a neighborhood carnival.”
There are currently settlement talks underway between the police and the Downs’ attorney.
However, as of right now there has currently been no settlement publicly reached.
h/t: Scary Mommy
