An Arlington, TX police officer reportedly told a woman that he would drop charges against her teen sons if she would hand over the video she took of the boys' violent arrest.
The Dallas Morning News reported that an anti-police violence nonprofit called Next Generation Action Network posted the video online Thursday morning, sparking outrage and calls for disciplinary action against the officer.
Next Generation said that the two boys in the video, ages 14 and 16, were arrested by police without any evidence. The younger boy was accused of breaking into a vehicle and the older boy with interfering with police business.
The boys were arrested then released after 8 hours with charges pending. Next Generation asked residents to protest the arrest and insist that all charges against the boys be dropped.
At the beginning of the video, an officer is perp-walking the 14-year-old as his mother films and anxiously asks what the boy is accused of.
The officer responded that he won't tell her because she is being "uncooperative."
"I'm not uncooperative," the woman said. "All I just said to you is, 'He is a good kid.' And you said that he's not going to cooperate. You're going to ask him if he's going to cooperate and if he's a tough guy? He's 14 years old."
The officer said he was looking for a reason to release the boy, but that her behavior was making it hard for him to find one.
"You're not finding it because you want somebody not to cooperate," the mother says. "What do y'all got to do? Do y'all just constantly have to kill our kids for y'all to just sit here and think that their life is valuable?"
Repeatedly, the mother demanded to know where her son was being taken and the officer refused to tell her each time.
"He is a minor," she said urgently. "He's 14 years old. I have a right to know where you are taking him."
Then, a scuffle erupted with the officer grabbing the 16-year-old by the back of the head and bringing him crashing down to the pavement and striking him before handcuffing him.
"You just slapped him in his face," the mother said. "He's 16 years old. You didn't have to slap him in his face."
Next Generation said, "The mother was assured that the charges against her boys would be dropped. But only if she surrendered this video to the police."
Watch the video, embedded below:
