The five black kids who were held at gunpoint by a Georgia cop Monday had been playing with a BB gun in the parking lot of a convenience store, prompting the owner to call police. They had also been play-fighting.
The Clayton County police officer who showed up, also black, said he was only trying to keep himself safe until he could determine there was no gun.
Police released body cam footage showing the cop became much more relaxed after the kids admitted to having been playing with a BB gun but having tossed it in some bushes prior to being detained by police. They were released with no charges.
However, the video recorded by a witness has sparked outrage in the community and throughout the country as just another example of heavy-handed policing on black children which has resulted in many of them being killed, including Tamir Rice in 2014.
And family members of the children as well as a famous hip hop star are still accusing the Clayton County Police Department of racial bias in how they responded to the call, claiming one never hears of white kids being detained at gunpoint for playing with BB guns.
”If the police have such a narrative and such influence from this 911 call, why don’t we ever see little white kids being held at gun point?,” asked American hip hop star T.I., an Atlanta native who has been performing professionally for more than two decades, and was attending a press conference organized by the parents Tuesday.
According to CBS 46:
With his gun pointed at the teens, the officer commanded them to stop, put their hands up and slowly make their way closer to him.
The teens complied.
The officer goes on to say in the report that motorists exited their vehicles and bystanders swarmed the area as the teens stood with their hands up. Several questioned the officer while others wanted to ensure the boys would not be harmed.
“I informed some of the bystanders they didn’t have nothing to do with the situation. I kept looking back and forth at the crowd and kept my service weapon at the low ready,” the officer goes on in the report.
Once back up arrived on the scene, each of the teens were patted down in a search for weapons.
None of the teens were armed.
Watch the edited video above that includes the 911 call, body cam footage and security footage from the store. The full unedited body cam video and arrest report are posted below.
