South Bend police are asking for patience as they investigate an officer’s handling of a juvenile female in a video posted and shared widely over the weekend. A warning, this story contains sound that might be upsetting to some listeners.
Police spokeswoman Ashley O’Chap says that at 1 p.m. Friday the officer responded to a 911 call about a girl causing a disturbance at the downtown McDonald’s. The girl left before the officer arrived, and he confronted her outside.
The bystander’s video shows the officer holding her down on the ground, her throat hanging over the curb on Michigan Street.
In the video, the girl can be heard yelling as the officer has her in a hold.
”Bro I’m not trying to run! Can you call my mom please? Bro I didn’t do nothing! I didn’t do nothing!”
Black Lives Matter South Bend has expressed outrage. But the police officer’s union shared a Facebook post saying the anger over the 10-second video is “gaslighting at its finest” because it doesn’t show what led to the incident inside McDonald’s. The union said, “The officer DOES NOT punch, kick or strike the juvenile. The juvenile at best is held down for control purposes to prevent injury.”
The union said the officer released the girl directly to her mother. The incident came four days after the city’s common council approved new fees the public must pay for police videos. Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski has pledged to release the officer’s body camera video but O’Chap said the department wasn’t ready to do that yet Monday. She said Ruszkowski was not available for an interview and police weren’t yet releasing the officer’s name.
