A Chicago police officer is under fire after pinning a Puerto Rican teenager with his knee over the allegation that he stole a bicycle.
The incident that occurred in Park Ridge, Illinois, was captured on video and her mother Nicole Nieves revealed the details on Facebook.
An alleged off-duty agent immobilized the minor on the floor because he believed that he stole his son’s bicycle, despite the fact that the teen was carrying his own bicycle.
What the teenager was doing was moving the bicycle that was blocking the sidewalk, Nieves said.
“The so-called ‘proof’? Our son’s hands were on the bike as he pulled it out of the way…while in possession of his own bike, right next to him (the orange bike you see in the video). This adult did not use words, he used force; he used his hands. He grabbed our son’s wrists, body slammed him, and then pinned him down with his knee to forcibly hold him down,” she wrote.
In the video, other boys are seen defending the teenager.
For Nieves, the incident was racially motivated.
“We have talked to our three Puerto Rican children about this moment for years, but you can’t emotionally prepare for this to happen to your own child…then it happens. We can’t put into words how we feel: disgust, anger, frustration, outrage, fear, sadness… Regardless of the circumstances, getting physical with a minor as an adult for any reason other than self-defense is unacceptable. Would this have been done to our son if he were white? Higher? Older?”.
