Police in Stockton, California, are being investigated after footage surfaced of nine of them beating and arresting a sobbing black teenager for jaywalking.
According to witnesses, the 16-year-old was told to sit down by an officer, but ignored him and continued to walk away. When the officer grabbed his arm, the teen pulled away his hand, after which the officer drew his baton. Police then report that the teen swore at the officer and continued to ignore demands. Allegedly, the officer’s body camera was dislodged in the altercation.
In the video, taken by Edgar Avendaño, the police officer pins the boy, using his nightstick to hold him down even as an onlooker cries out “It’s a fucking kid! Get off him” in protest. The young man struggles while in the hold, then sits up before he’s struck twice in the face with the baton. Eight more police arrive, lifting the teen and then slamming him onto the sidewalk and pinning him down, while several cops attempt to cut off Avendaño’s camera angle.
Representatives for the Stockton Police Department told Vice News that the altercation was being investigated. Watch the video for yourself below.