Video shows a cop punching a 17-year-old boy apparently held by a security guard in the parking lot of the Mayfair mall.
“Why did he punch him like that?” says a woman in the footage. “And he a minor.”
The officer and guard get on the teen to handcuff him. The cop can be seen striking the 17-year-old, who is belly down on the ground, on the face. Two other people are at the scene, apparently friends of the 17-year-old. He tells them to call his mother. The officer repeatedly tells them to step back amid the tense confrontation.
Now the Wauwatosa Police Department is investigating the incident, which happened on Friday.
Police Chief Brian Weber told WAFF in a statement that they will “thoroughly review” what happened.
“I can assure you that we take all situations seriously when they involve a use of force by our officers,” he said.
Still, the police don’t seem poised to blame their officer for wrongdoing. They reportedly said the release video of the incident doesn’t show the whole story. Other footage shows the cop attempting to speak to the teen before the teen physically fought him, they said.
Cops said they were called to the scene after mall security complained about the teen and four others being disruptive. The 17-year-old has been cited for disorderly conduct, battery, and resisting an officer. He was not identified.
Tyrone Jackson, who is credited with taking the video above, told the outlet he “knew” the arrest incident was wrong as he witnessed it.
“I knew it was wrong,” he said. “That punch was wrong. If it was just a tussling, trying to get him down, okay, that would be something different. But the punch to the face, twice, to a minor, it was something serious to me.”
[Screengrab via Tyrone Jackson and WISN]