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.
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.
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.
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.
The arresting officers later defended their actions, citing the fact that he allegedly spit at an officer "multiple times".
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.
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.
He was cited for battery against a police officer and resisting officers, but for no other crimes.
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.
"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.'"
The Police Department have also announced that they will be reviewing the arrest of the 12-year-old, Scary Mommy reported.
She also said, "Our police should know how to handle a tiny, 12-year-old boy."
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.
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."
However, as of right now there has currently been no settlement publicly reached.
h/t: Scary Mommy
