Video of a violent encounter between police and a group of four Black teenagers in Ocean City, Maryland, over the weekend has gone viral and is prompting outrage on social media.
The Saturday incident, which was filmed by a bystander, shows a police officer kneeing a 19-year-old Black man multiple times in the ribs as several other deputies held the man on the ground to arrest him for vaping.
Three other Black teens were also taken into custody during the altercation.
Officers first approached the “large group vaping on the boardwalk,” according to reports. At least four teens were observed vaping and were ordered to stop, with police citing a city ordinance that prohibits smoking and vaping, but one of the subjects did not immediately comply and resumed vaping, reports said.
As the officers approached, the man refused to provide his identification and “became disorderly,” according to a statement by the city.
“Stop resisting!” one of the officers yelled at the 19-year-old, who was later identified as Brian Everett Anderson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
“I’m not resisting,” Anderson can be heard yelling on the footage as the officer forcefully kneed the teen in the ribs several times.
The use of force by the officer sparked anger and yelling among the group of teens, and a second confrontation ensued in which another teen in the group was tasered and tackled to the ground.
A third male in the group, identified by officials as 18-year-old Jahtique Joseph John Lewis of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was arrested after he picked up a police bicycle and threw it to the ground, the video shows.
Also arrested were 19-year-old Kamere Anthony Day and 19-year-old Khalil Dwayne Warren, both of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Each was charged with multiple counts including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and second-degree assault. They were released after appearing in Maryland District Court.
In a social media post being shared on Instagram, one of the teens alleges the officers singled them out and followed them for several blocks along the boardwalk while ignoring other people who were smoking.
In a news release, Ocean City officials said they would review the officers’ actions but also noted “Our officers are permitted to use force, per their training, to overcome exhibited resistance.”
Community leaders who saw the videos questioned whether police used excessive force over a vaping ordinance.
“There aren’t enough words,” tweeted Benjamin Dixon, a liberal commentator, along with the video of police clashing with the teenagers. “This can’t be reformed.”
Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in a Sunday tweet: “Attorney General [Brian Frosh] can you please investigate these multiple incidents involving police and unarmed Black teens in Ocean City, MD?” She also tagged Maryland’s Democratic attorney general.
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