Florida cop handcuffs black 11-year-old for dribbling basketball in gym

A black Florida mother said a police officer disciplined her 11-year-old son by locking him in handcuffs for bouncing a basketball in a gym.

Bunmi Borisade said her son was taking part Saturday in a game with Jacksonville's Police Athletic League when an officer asked the boy to stop bouncing the ball, reported WJXT-TV.

When Fatayi Jomoh kept dribbling, the officer placed him in handcuffs.

“A little girl came up to me and said, 'Hey, excuse me -- your son is being arrested for dribbling a basketball,'" Borisade said. "I said, 'You can’t be serious.'"

The boy was not actually arrested, but he was scared by the incident -- which she said undermines the purpose of the JaxPAL youth teams.

“It’s ruined (my image of police) as well," Borisade told the TV station. "I’m not going to lie and put on a show for the news."

Borisade filed a complaint with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and she believes the officer should have contacted her before disciplining her son.

“The officer who handcuffed my son looked at me and said, 'He was being disrespectful,'” Borisade said. “I said, 'Well, why didn’t you come and tell me? I’m his mom.'”