New York: Police use pepper spray on black nine

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Police in Rochester, New York State (symbolic image)

Photo: Brendan McDermid / REUTERS

In the US state of New York there was a controversial police operation against a nine-year-old.

As reported by the New York Times, among others, the girl was taken into custody on Friday in the city of Rochester.

According to the police, the child threatened to kill himself and his mother.

The girl is apparently mentally ill.

The police pushed the child into the snow and handcuffed him while he screamed for his father, the newspaper reported.

"I am a child"

A police officer accused the nine-year-old of behaving like a child.

The arrested woman replied: "I am a child."

When the girl continued to resist and refused to get into the police car, the police reportedly used pepper spray.

The Mayor of Rochester, New York State condemned the operation.

As the mother of a ten-year-old child, she doesn't want to see such recordings, said Lovely Warren.

She urged more "empathy and empathy" and called for an internal investigation by the security forces.

Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan admitted mistakes: "I'm not going to stand here and tell you it's okay to use pepper spray on a nine-year-old," she said.

"He's not."

Understanding of the tough approach, however, came from the police union.

"This is not about a lack of empathy or empathy," said local union leader Mike Mazzeo.

The police were stressed, the girl may have been facing hypothermia.

That's why they wanted to get it into the car quickly.

"I'm not saying there is no better way to solve this," Mazzeo said.

Only last March there was a critical police operation in Rochester: The African-American Daniel Prude suffocated after an arrest.

The police chief then resigned.

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