The Wauwatosa Police Department continues to investigate the arrest of a teen in a mall parking lot on Friday, May 11th. A male police officer was caught on camera, punching the 17-year-old in the face. The officer was white, the teenager was black. In the footage captured by a Mayfair Mall shopper, the officer is seen punching the teen twice before a fellow officer comes to help pin the teen down on the ground. The teen hands were then handcuffed behind his back as he begged for someone to call his mother.
“Why’d they punch him like that—and he’s a minor,” one witness can be heard saying in the cellphone footage.
The officer claimed to have been called to the location by mall security, who reported a disturbance caused by five people. According to the WDJT-TV, the teen was arrested and cited for resisting arrest. In a statement, the Wauwatosa Police Department said the video represented “only a small segment of the interaction between the suspect and the officer”. The department also confirmed that they were investigating the incident.
