Police chief, mayor apologize after mistakenly detaining 12-year-old Black boy taking out trash

Police in Lansing, Michigan, released these blurred images of a 12-year-old boy, left, and a car theft suspect, right, after officers mistakenly took the boy into custody, thinking he was the suspect. The incident was captured on TikTok, which has amassed over 5 million views. (Lansing Police Department)

Police in Lansing, Michigan, released these blurred images of a 12-year-old boy, left, and a car theft suspect, right, after officers mistakenly took the boy into custody, thinking he was the suspect. The incident was captured on TikTok, which has amassed over 5 million views. (Lansing Police Department)

The police chief and mayor in Lansing, Michigan, issued apologies after cops mistakenly handcuffed a 12-year-old Black boy who was taking out the trash. The incident was captured in a viral video on TikTok.

A video with the caption “Kid taking out trash being harassed by police. Father defending his son. Wrong person,” has amassed over 5 million views. It shows the boy’s father pleading with police that they have the wrong person, telling them they are traumatizing his son who did nothing wrong. After a couple of minutes, police release the boy from custody.

Lansing police said in a Facebook post that officers on Thursday afternoon were investigating a string of Kia thefts, including on reported on the 3600 block of W. Jolly Road with multiple suspects.

@careyann327Kid taking out trash being harassed by police. Father defending his son. Wrong person.♬ original sound – Talkingtom24🐺

A witness described one of the suspects wearing a white shirt and neon shorts. When an officer approached the suspect, he fled to a nearby apartment complex, the Facebook post said. Another officer responded to apartment complex and saw the boy who was also wearing neon shorts and took him into custody, not knowing it was the wrong person, according to the Facebook post.

The initial officer who spotted the suspect came to the apartment complex and told officers they had the wrong person and the boy was released, police said.

“Community relations is a top priority for us as a department, from top-down. Our hope is we can put this unfortunate case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ behind us and continue to represent the community that we serve,” the post said.

The Facebook post also includes a picture of the boy and actual suspect, showing they are wearing similar clothing, though it appears the suspect has longer hair.

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