Teen says he was tackled from behind during arrest
Hamilton police arrested teenager for mischief endangering life early Sunday
The family of a 14-year-old boy arrested by Hamilton police over the weekend wants the arresting officer charged with assault, alleging excessive force was used.
The boy, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), alleges he was unexpectedly thrown from behind into a police cruiser and onto the ground during his arrest in Stoney Creek early Sunday morning.
“I didn’t even know he was there,” the boy said of the officer who allegedly tackled him from behind.
Photos shared with The Spectator show a red handprint on the teen’s neck, a bump on his cheekbone and elbow and bruising around his wrists from what he says were handcuffs initially placed so tight his fingers were going numb.
Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman said the service can’t comment, citing the YCJA and a possible investigation by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).
The boy is charged with mischief endangering life for allegedly throwing a rocks at cars, with one hitting a driver. The boy denies it was him.
Police told him the suspect was described as wearing a red shirt — the boy was wearing a red shirt and was found in the area that night.
He was walking alone outside of a convenience store at Envoy Boulevard at Highway 8 in Stoney Creek around 1 a.m. on June 14 when a police cruiser, driven by a police sergeant, stopped. She asked him his name and what he was doing.
The boy says he was walking to a friend’s house to get a ride home to his mother’s place downtown. He claims he was complying with the sergeant’s requests and was three letters into spelling his first name when a male constable suddenly grabbed him from behind.
The teen, who has had previous encounters with police, admits he was mouthy, yelling and being difficult in the minutes and hours that followed. But he says he was being co-operative before his arrest.
The boy’s mom, horrified when her son showed up upset and bruised at her door around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, has spoken with police. She says she was told the officer claimed her son stepped back from the sergeant’s cruiser when he approached to arrest him.
Her son is about 130 pounds, much smaller than the large officer.
The boy says he asked the officer why he tackled him and claims the officer told him: “I thought you were going to run.”
After his arrest the 14-year-old says he was taken to the east end station, where he was placed in a holding cell. He says he was banging, yelling obscenities, but also asked for water, for someone to call his mom and for a youth officer — during another arrest he said a youth officer came and he says he was treated much better.
This time he says no one brought him anything to drink, he claims he could hear officers laughing at him and claims one officer shot him the finger.
After a couple of hours he was released to his paternal grandfather, but after a dispute walked to a friends house where he had left his phone and then cabbed home.
His mom was startled by him knocking at the back door at 5:30 a.m.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” she recalls him saying, standing there “shaking and crying.”
She said she immediately took pictures of his injuries.
That afternoon his grandmother took him to hospital to make sure he wasn’t seriously hurt — the doctor’s report noted “contusions and abrasions.”
“This brutality was completely unnecessary,” said his grandmother, who was confused and upset by what happened.
The family is submitting a complaint to the OIPRD. His mother is also pursuing laying a private assault charge. This process involves putting the allegation in writing and under oath before a justice of the peace.
His mom says her son has had a hard life, but is a good kid.
“I can’t pass by his room without him telling me he loves me,” she said
A couple of days after his arrest the boy says he was stiff and in pain.
But he also says the encounter has changed how he thinks about police. While he’s faced arrest before, he says he wasn’t mistreated.
The boy also says he wants police to wear body cameras.
“This changed my whole perspective,” he said. “I’m never going to forget that night.”
Nicole O’Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com