I almost got arrested tonight defending a 12 year old from police.

Pull up. Late to MIB. See a group of teenagers in the parking lot being teenagers. Laughing playing tag.

Look down to switch to 11:00 showing and their yells and laughter turn into lighthearted jeers when an officer came over a speaker telling them to leave the property.

They start walking away, grumbling & laughing (not against the law). Then heard shrieks and a girl screaming. An officer was DRAGGING her to his car so I get out of mine and walk right up.

5-6 officers popped up. Hell nah.

Again a full grown man is manhandling a small 12 year old girl. Now, about 8 officers are accosting a dozen terrified 12-13 y/o. One young man started crying. Can't have it.

One girl seems the most upset I get between her and the officers and start asking what happened. She says they were walking away and they grabbed her cousin. I look at the officer in question he blurts out

"She was refusing to leave the property" to which her cousin says no, she *was leaving, calling her mom to pick her up.

Now I'm standing in the middle of the street, AT LEAST 4 cop cars lights flashing, officers everywhere, cuffed 12 y/o in the back of a cop car next to her rightfully shaken cousin.

I ask if shes *actually under arrest. They say something technical but yeah. Now they want to play caring and say they "just want to release her to her mom"

Turn to her cousin. Says she doesn't have a phone. Hand her mine and told her to call Auntie now.

Pushing luck to the limit, I walk up to the police car where a deflated preteen is cuffed & isolated and ask if she *really needed to be arrested then if it was necessary for her to be cuffed.

3-4 officers start talking over themselves about different policies or whatever her cousin lets me know her mom's on the way. Then walks toward her friends who the police are hearding away into the dark unlit portion of the parking lot.

Still pressing the matter of cuffing a defeated, nonviolent kid who I witnessed leaving when police asked they keep insisting she didn't. her cousin pops up again

Says to me the girl in cuffs was calling her mom to PICK HER UP when they grabbed her. An officer turns to cuz also 12 says "can I talk to you for a second"

Her cousin says she only wants to talk to me

Officer (delicate ego wounded): "THEN YOU NEED TO LEAVE!"

I say shes going to leave with me l. No way she's walking alone in the dark with these type of cops around.

Then say matta fact, can they release the girl they roughed up to me too they said "only if you're over 21 and mom says so" so I told cuz to call mom back. Every second this girl is cuffed is painful. Was she shaking like we were? Was she okay?

Now that they know I'm an adult and not going anywhere whole demeanors change. We're down to 4 cops now. One is staring down the cousin, clearly looking to scare her, annoy her.

It works. She's telling him to stop. He won't because he's small and gets kicks from bullying12 year olds at the movies on Saturday nights

Anyway talk to mom she says shes abt to pull tf up so we wait. I'm between cuz and the cops asking her questions to distract her from the adult man in uniform still staring her down sick smirk on his face.

Mom pulls up and stuff gets real. She asks the officer what happened. He said her daughter was refusing to leave.

A LIE. SURPRISE.

Her daughter WAS on the phone with her and she heard the WHOLE confrontation on the other end. That's how she pulled up after only ~20 mins

I let her finish and say another thing! Pulled out an actual receipt I got from cuz while trying to distract her. It was a receipt from one of the shops inside MINUTES before they were accused of loitering. Handed it to moms

Yeah. So then the officer says "well she already admitted to the crime"

So I ask, deathly serious. "You got a minor to admit to a crime without her guardian or legal counsel?"

Silence.

"MA'AM are you even part of this??" Hes irritated now.

Must've asked the right question. Moms is waiting on an answer too.

Now he says "if you dont leave I'm going to arrest you for obstruction"

I tell the mom imma send her my friends number, couple of em. They all lawyers and this seems like a false arrest.

"Ma'am I'm going to arrest you for obstruction!"

Imagine, arresting a whole witness. Whatever.

So mainly i was trying to keep everything calm cause when I was pulling up at first an officer was all in cousins face accusing her of yelling at him though she insisted she was speaking in her regular voice. She was.

As soon as I get back down the hill actual yelling starts. Shit. So call up friend whose a lawyer and then get moms on the phone still talking to police.

Tell her get badge numbers and names not to sign anything unless it pertained specifically to her release watching from my car

There was a Black couple that had decided to watch quietly bear witness too. Make their presence known to everyone there. Angels.

So anyway get moms an excellent lawyer who is expecting a call in the morning. We finna get sis record wiped. It's not against the law to be a happy teen. And ppl with fragile egos shouldn't wear a badge.

I missed MIB twice in one night

Wasn't brave at all. That's the 12 year old who bore that abuse tonight. That's her cousin who wouldn't leave her side, stood up for her against those full grown women + men bearing down on her.

I was scared yall. That was terrifying. Folks can be so cruel.

Seriously it looked like SWAT was about to pull up. Cars, lights, screaming kids because what?

Being a kid while Black? Gthoh. Physically couldn't stay out of it. It was pandemonium.

Anyways moms says they're shaken but okay. I told her they did nothing wrong. And that the Black couple told me one officer asked them later if it was really necessary that his coworker arrest her daughter

(Got their number too!)

Told her cousin a real one and praying for their well being after all this. And the young man who dissapeared into the night with the rest of their group in tears. Record or no traumatizing kids is the real crime tonight.

That's the real crime.

Oh. Forgot to mention. The movie these kids were waiting to see after getting ice cream?

Secret Life of Pets 2

I'm 2 seconds from outing the PD. Currently in the process of letting them lie all over reports and to the girls mother.

50 KIDS?? The lies.

Not even close. Multiple witnesses can confirm.

Matters are being discussed with a lawyer. That's all I'll say for now.

Thank you for your empathy towards these kids, your introspection and your vows to stand up if faced by a similar situation. Please do.

Know that police can be wrong. We must hold them accountable.

Throw what little privilege you have around. It makes all the difference.

Unfortunately, it gets worse.

The couple saw the officer who arrested the 12 y/o girl come out of his car *right before coming over his speaker*

Nightstick drawn.

Asked moms today how everyone was holding up. She said cuz got scraped/cut up a bit running into a fence in order to avoid the cop waving around a nightstick.

Again these kids were laughing, having fun.

And now she has a 12 year old scared to be out of her mother's sight. Terrified of leaving the house.

She might not make it to cheer camp today.

So its almost time to pass the mic to the mothers and the lawyers.

She wants me to say a few things on here. Moms saw your support. It matters. Stand by.

Also, AFTER the girl was cuffed and in the police car. The guy who arrested her took her purse and said he needed to search it "in case there were any weapons"

Just gets more absurd by the moment.

This child asked the officer repeatedly why he was arresting her. He would not answer, repeatedly.

All this muscle to administer

one citation. a citation.

Want to revisit this thread later this week. There are updates. #BlackHistoryMonth