Police in South Carolina have released gruesome body camera footage showing two officers forcibly arresting a 13-year-old boy while he was selling flowers outside a Walmart store. The video shows Officers Dante Ghi and Katherine Kirkland approaching the teen on April 1 at a Walmart store in Summerville, South Carolina, and asking for his photo ID and business license. The 13-year-old is shown asking why he has to show the documents.
“You’re getting ready to go to jail, that’s why,” one of the officers replied.
Officer Ghi is seen grabbing the boy’s arm in the video before trying to force the boy’s head between his legs. According to the Atlanta Black Star, Kirkland later said the boy “punched” her in the face with his fist during the fight. Police also provided a photo of a bruise Kirkland suffered under his eye. However, the video does not show the child hitting the officer.
State Rep. Martin Pendarvis, who represents the child’s family, said in a statement that the teen could not have hit the officer.
“What you see is (his left hand) handcuffed, and the other officer restrained and engaged him with his right hand. It’s hard to conclude, in my mind, that he would have had time (to hit) that officer,” Pendarvis said, the Atlanta Black Star reported.
Police described the teen as “uncooperative” and “confrontational.” They also said the teen pushed Ghi against a wall.
A witness also posted a video on Facebook. The clip shows Ghi pushing the child’s head between his legs while Kirkland handcuffs him from behind. Kirkland threatened to use his Taser while Ghi forced him to the ground.
According to a statement from Summerville Police Lt. Shaun Tumbleston, Ghi used a “struggle move” to prevent the teen “from getting up and to avoid the risk of the individual attempting to escape or assaulting a another police officer.”
The teenager was accused of assaulting a police officer. another teenager who accompanied him was charged with trespassing.
Pendarvis said his client often sells rose-shaped flowers because he’s trying to make “honest money.”
“It was an overreaction. It was an escalation. There was no attempt to defuse the event from the moment they approached it,” Pendarvis said, according to the Atlanta Black Star.
He continued, “It’s not uncommon for Girl Scouts, church groups, or Little Leagues to gather in front of store fronts, selling cookies, selling lemonade, selling n no matter what, to honestly earn money, to raise funds for special situations. If there had been Girl Scouts there, would the results have been the same?
The Summerville community came together to protest and demanded justice for the teen after viewing the body camera footage.
“It’s just very sad what young black men are facing at the hands of the police who should be helping them,” protester Patricia Cannon said in an interview with WCBD.
Protester Denise Rock calls for Officer Ghi to be fired.
“Where is the police reform? The state must get involved and address people like Agent Ghi. He should never be a police officer again,” Rock told WCBD.
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