Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty
Police in general are not to be trusted. Police in Florida are guilty until proven innocent as far as we’re concerned.
According to a new report by ABC News, a police officer in Lakeland, Florida has been seen on video recording punching, beating, and tasing a 16-year-old Black boy for “trespassing” at an apartment complex pool. Christopher McKee and another officer responded to a 911 call about people who were not allowed to use the property’s amenities because they were not residents.
Let McKee tell it…
“I gave [the subject] several more lawful orders to exit the property or he would be arrested,” McKee stated in the affidavit. “[The subject] continued to ignore my verbal commands and stuck his hand in my face, while stating ‘I don’t have to talk to you.’ I decided at this time to take [the subject] into custody for trespassing.”
McKee goes on to claim that the unnamed minor ultimately struck him with a closed fist and that’s when the following happened.
Warning! This video may be triggering. Please consider your mental health before viewing.
@LakelandPD excuse me, is this how you rotten stinking b’tards treat 16 yrs olds or is it just black 16 yr old. Two pigs attacking a kid with no shames or to protect and serve. pic.twitter.com/eUPbEcwfXY
— its up to me (@Deancandoit) May 30, 2024
Now, remember back when we said that Florida police are not to be trusted and should be assumed guilty until proven innocent? Yeah. The boy’s mother Ja’Tae Lewis spoke directly to ABCN ews and told them that the officers instigated a physical confrontation as her son and his friend were leaving the property upon request. Lewis says that McKee told her son that he needed to take his “fat a**” to the gym instead of a pool. When the boy replied to McKee, that’s when he became aggressive and accosted him.
The body camera footage is under review but the Lakeland Police Department has not released it to the public.