End the Lie
A 14-year-old was reportedly choked by Miami-Dade police and charged with a felony count of resisting arrest with violence and disorderly conduct, all for giving police “dehumanizing stares,” clenching his fists and appearing threatening.
Unfortunately, it’s not all that rare for teens to be brutalized or even killed by police in the United States. There also seems to be something about police in Florida being especially violent for no apparent reason as they were when they beat a 66-year-old and when they murdered Nick Christie.
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| (Image credit: Screenshot from CBS Miami report) |
“They told him that behavior was unacceptable,” Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said to CBS Miami. “He walked away and officers followed him. They asked where his parents were. He said he was not going to take them to them.
“When he started to leave the beach area, officers had to get off their ATVs to detain him,” Zabaleta continued. “He had closed arms, clenched fists and pulled his arm away.”
“Once he was approaching the road, the officers restrained him. Again his body language was that he was stiffening up and pulling away,” Zabaleta said. “Now you’re resisting officers at that point and when the hands are swinging and you are resisting officers, at that point you have to be taken into custody.”
“Of course we have to neutralize the threat,” Zabaleta said. “When you have somebody resistant to them and pulling away and somebody clenching their fists and flailing their arms, that’s a threat.”
McMillian and his family strongly disagree.
