White teen in mall fight says cops handcuffing of Black teen is “racist”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A video of two teens fighting in the mall went viral last week for appearing to show police showing bias.
• Two New Jersey police officers arrested and handcuffed the Black teen while the other teen was left sitting on a couch.
• The teen, who appeared to be white, that was not arrested commented that the cops’ actions were “just plain old racist.”

One of the teens involved in a fight at a mall in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, last week said it was “racist” for police to only handcuff the Black teen he was fighting with and not him.

A viral video of the fight showed the two boys getting into an argument. After the two began fighting, police officers ran over to break it up.

The officers then pinned the Black teen to the ground and handcuffed him while the other teen was allowed to sit on a couch and watch. Neither teen ended up being charged.

Mayor Matthew Moench of Bridgewater Township said on Wednesday an internal investigation was launched over the incident. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted he was “deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video.”

Joseph, the teen who was not handcuffed or detained, told NJ Advance Media he didn’t understand why he and the other teen were treated differently by the police officers.

“I don’t understand why they arrested him and not me,” Joseph said. “I say that was just plain old racist. I don’t condone that at all.”

Joseph, who said he is not white but Colombian and Pakistani, told the outlet he even offered to get arrested along with the other teen. The video showed Joseph putting his hands together as if to allow one of the police officers to handcuff him, but the officer did not.

“I even offered to get handcuffed, I offered to get detained after Kye was detained, and they turned my offer down. I even asked them why they detained Kye and not me, and they said because Kye was resisting,” Joseph told NJ Advance Media.

In the video, Kye appears calm and does not seem to be resisting during the arrest.

Kye, the Black teen, and his mother, Ebone, appeared on CNN Wednesday along with their lawyer, Ben Crump, and said they would like to see the officers dismissed.

“I hate to say this but if it wasn’t for race, then what is it? What made them tackle my son, not the other kid?” Ebone said, adding: “I’m not saying all cops are bad, but there are a few that feel they are above the law.”

Source: Yahoo! News