Tulsa police have released body camera footage amid outrage over the handcuffing of two Black teenagers whom officers accused of jaywalking.- The footage shows the officers approaching the teens from behind as they walked down an empty street and immediately grabbing one of them to handcuff him.
- The teenager struggled and could be heard telling the officers he couldn't breathe, then accused them of racially profiling him.
- Tulsa's mayor condemned the incident and said "no Tulsa kid should have to fear being tackled and cuffed for walking down the street."
Police in Tulsa,
Body camera footage released by the police department show one of the officers running up behind the two teenagers and grabbing one of them by the arms, accusing him of "walking in the middle of the road."
A struggle ensued, and at one point, the video showed an officer's arm wrapped around the teenager's neck before pushing him facedown onto the ground. The other teenager can be heard accusing the officer of choking the teen and questioned why the officers were making the arrest.
"All he was doing was jaywalking and we just wanted to talk to him. And he had to act a fool like that," one officer responded.
"You guys are harassing us for no reason. We're just walking, man. We can't walk down the street?" one teen said.
The incident occurred June 4, amid heightened tensions between law enforcement and Black communities in the wake of the killing of
The body camera footage showed that eventually the officers handcuffed both teens and tried to move one of them to the police cruiser. The teenager struggled and yelled that he couldn't breathe, while an officer responded, "You're fine."
The teenager then accused the officer of racially profiling him.
"Why the f—- you want to check me? Because I'm Black, huh?" the teen said, before spitting on the officer. Another struggle ensued, and the officer yelled that the teen had headbutted him.
Eventually the officers released one of the teens from his handcuffs and warned him to be careful when walking down the street.
"Hey man, just so you know, when you're walking down the street, walk on the opposite side of traffic. Okay? And don't be in the middle of the street," the officer said.
The mayor condemned the arrest
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum condemned the arrest in a statement on Facebook and said he would work with the police chief to review the police unit involved.
"I want every kid in Tulsa to feel safe to walk down the street in their neighborhood. No Tulsa kid should have to fear being tackled and cuffed for walking down the street," he said. "I know the officers in that unit focus on removal of illegal guns from the streets, but the goal of that work should be that families feel safe in their neighborhood. This instance accomplished the opposite."
The Tulsa Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but Tulsa World quoted a press release saying the department's internal affairs unit is investigating the arrest.
It's unclear if the teenager who was arrested faces any charges.
The investigation began after the department received messages on social media regarding the arrest, and decided to release the body camera footage "in the continued effort to be transparent with our community."
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