The attorney representing the 14-year-old detained by South Bend police outside a McDonald’s says he plans to review the evidence and find out what really happened.
Civil rights attorney Andrew M. Stroth believes the video of the incident shows an unreasonable use of force. “She didn’t present any danger," Stroth told WVPE on Friday. "She had left the McDonald’s, was walking down the street and, to me, violently taken down by the officer.”
The incident began when a McDonald’s employee called 911 reporting “a little kid” trying to give workers a hard time, but Stroth disputes the idea that the girl was trespassing. “Her mom had given her permission to leave school. Her mom had given her permission to go to McDonald’s," Stroth explained. "So, if a young lady, young woman, girl walks into a restaurant and buys food and then has a problem with the food, I don’t see how that’s trespassing.”
Stroth also says he doesn’t understand the police chief’s claim that physical contact may have been needed to keep the girl out of traffic.
He says he can’t say yet whether he’s planning a lawsuit. “I don’t have enough information to make a determination on any legal strategy or legal moves," Stroth said. "I just want to know what the heck happened.”
Stroth says he wants to look into whether the officer violated any use-of-force policies, and he wants McDonald’s corporate office and the local franchise owner to review their own procedures.
Still, he commends the South Bend Police Department for releasing the bodycam footage relatively quickly.
As for the girl herself, Stroth says she remains traumatized by the incident. “The 14-year-old young girl told her mother and then also told me that the officer grabbed her, grabbed her by the neck, she couldn’t breathe, and she literally thought the officer was going to kill her,” Stroth said.
Stroth says she had to take the week off from school, and she has been seeing a doctor and mental health professionals.
