‘They are kids!’ Mom pleads with cop holding Black teens at gunpoint, GA video shows
A frightened group of Black teens and a police officer holding them at gunpoint had a tense encounter in a Georgia neighborhood, but were able to defuse what could have been a deadly situation, the officer’s body cam video shows.
“Stop, all of y’all stop!” the cop shouts, according to video released by Clayton County police. “Get your hands up! You’re gonna get hurt.”
The encounter in Jonesboro, Georgia, on Monday caused worried bypassers to stop and plead with the officer to put his gun away. Parent Shanelle Ladd was one of the people who pulled over, took out her phone and started filming, CNN reported. She then shared the video online, where it has been viewed thousands of times.
In the 6 minute clip, Ladd is heard begging the officer to put away his gun.
“C’mon now, they’re kids,” she says. “Please, they’re kids ... why you got a gun out?”
Others shout at the officer to “leave those kids alone!”
The incident left neighbors angry, prompting calls for the officer to be fired, 11 Alive reported Wednesday.
Authorities said the scene unfolded just after 7:15 p.m. when police received a call about an armed person. The caller, a convenience store clerk, said there was a group of teens in the store “stealing and waving a gun,” police said in a news release.
The man called back saying the teens had moved to the parking lot and were fighting.
An officer was dispatched to the area and spotted a group of teens matching the description provided by the caller. That’s when he approaches and within seconds, draws his gun, body cam footage shows.
“Due to the allegation that the juveniles were in possession of a gun, the officer approached them with his duty weapon drawn and pointed at the juveniles,” the department said in a release. “The officer lowered the weapon once the juveniles complied with the officer’s verbal commands.”
Residents feel the situation could’ve been handled much differently, however.
“Every black child is not a suspect. We should not be treated that way,” Ladd told CNN. “They need to be better, and building and respecting the communities they are in and not working against us.”
“My thought was — I’m a mom,” she added. “I have to protect these kids.”
One of the teens, 13-year-old Karmari Moore, told WSB-TV he thought he “was going to die” that day.
“What they did to us was wrong,” Moore said, according to the news station. “They should have never did that. We didn’t have nothing to do with them (some of the boys).”
In the video, witnesses — many of whom stopped their cars in the street — are heard yelling and pleading with the officer on the teenagers’ behalf. The cop then radios for backup, saying, “I’ve got a crowd forming on me.”
At one point, he yells at the group of bystanders to “mind your business” as they continue shouting at him.
“You ain’t got nothing to do with this!” the officer says, according to police video.
The officer talks calmly with the teens, urging them to relax and “don’t worry” about the crowd. Later in the clip, he asks them about the incident at the store and why they were accused of having a gun.
A pat down of the teens, ages 13, 14, and 15, revealed no weapon, authorities said.
One of the teens later told officers that they had a BB gun, according to police. The boys led officers back to the gas station, where they had tossed it in the bushes. Police said the gun “closely resembled a live semi-automatic pistol.”
Later in the video, the responding officer advises the youths about the dangers of playing with guns — especially authentic-looking ones.
“You can get hurt. You shouldn’t have BB guns,” he tells one of the teens. “This looks like a real gun. Y’all pull this out, you’re going to get shot man. Come on man. This looks more real than my gun.”
Police said no arrests were made.
The incident comes amid protests calling for police accountability and reform after the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed in police custody last month when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than 8 minutes. The officer involved, Derek Chauvin, was fired and charged with murder, McClatchy News reported.
At a Tuesday news conference, Ladd called for accountability in the Clayton County incident and changes in policing.
“What would have happened if the community didn’t show up and show out for them that day?” she said, according to 11 Alive. “It’s unacceptable and we’re not going to stand for it and we’re asking Chief Kevin Roberts to make revisions now, and to hear from the community now, because we’re not going to accept this in our community.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 2:29 PM.