The parents of a 14-year-old boy have filed criminal charges against a Chicago police officer who violently detained their son when he was off duty because he thought he had stolen a bicycle, in an incident they have described as racist.
The minor's mother, Nicole Nieves, posted video of the plainclothes officer on her son, pressing his knee against the boy's back outside a Starbucks in Park Ridge on Friday night.
In the video, the man identifies himself as a police officer and accuses the young man of stealing his son's bicycle.
"
He's taking my son's bike,"
he can be heard saying.
14-year-old boy subdued by an off-duty police officer in Park Ridge, Chicago.NBC Chicago
"No, it's not true," the teen's friends reply, trying to help their friend up while yelling at the officer that he hadn't done anything wrong.
Nieves thanked
the "brave and courageous" young people who helped her son
and assured that if it hadn't been for them "no one knows what could have happened."
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Now, the family of the young man who was subdued by the police has requested that he be formally charged and they allege that it was a case of racial discrimination, because the agent acted without evidence.
“We see the bias of an off-duty police officer who takes advantage of a smaller, dark-haired boy with Afro hair and decides to apply the law on his own using excessive force: a clear abuse of his position of authority, an authority conferred to protect my son.”
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The family's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said the officer exceeded his authority in the incident.
“There is no question that our client was racialized. Our client was the only person in the crowd who was not white
, "said Romanucci, according to statements collected by the affiliate of our sister network NBC in Chicago.
“He thought the young man was stealing a bike, but he had no knowledge of it, no interview, no evidence, nothing at all: he just took law enforcement out of his jurisdiction,” he added.
A Park Ridge police spokesman explained that the officer called the station for help because he said he was "surrounded by 100 teenagers."
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Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski said they are looking into the possibility of charges being filed against the officer.
“Yes, there is a possibility that there will be charges.
We've taken this very seriously, and I personally find the footage in that video that we got very disturbing," Kaminski said.
Chicago police are also investigating the incident.
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Nieves stressed that the officer used excessive force, despite the fact that her son did not resist arrest and remained calm.
"What we see?
We see a scared, but controlled and strangely calm child while a big man presses him with all his strength, an adult who used violence before words, "said the mother,
who said she was concerned about the mental and emotional health of her son.
