On Friday afternoon, a Wauwatosa, Wis., police officer was caught on camera punching a young black man in the face in the parking lot of the Mayfair Mall.
The police officer arrived on the scene after a report of disorderly teens. And though the video, shot by Tyrone Jackson, only shows 45 seconds of the police’s interaction with the teens, it clearly shows an officer throwing several punches to the young man’s face while he was being held by a mall security guard.
In an interview with WAFF, Jackson said he knew what the cops were doing was wrong. “If it was just a tussling, trying to get him down, okay that would be something different. But the punch to the face, twice, to a minor, it was something serious to me,” Jackson said.
Jackson also said he noticed that mall security was following the teens and eventually a police officer showed up.
“When the officer got out of the car I said ‘stop,’ and got in front of the young man, and next thing you know he’s like, ‘Let me go!’”
And that’s when he said he started to film the incident.
Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber issued this statement: “I can assure you that we take all situations seriously when they involve a use of force by our officers. We thoroughly review all incidents in which force is used by an officer and will do so in this incident, as well.”
On Saturday a chapter of the Black Panthers urged the firing of the police officer:
The unnamed teen was arrested for disorderly conduct, battery and resisting an officer.