Black mother paid $2m after being beaten by police and arrested in front of her toddler
THE city of Philadelphia will issue a $2million (£1.45million) payout to a black woman beaten in front of her toddler by police, who later claimed they had rescued the child.
After being terrorised by officers, Rickia Young, a nursing assistant, was dragged from her car before being separated from her two-year-old, hearingimpaired son. The child was later paraded on social media by police who said he was rescued by officers after being found wandering the streets.
Ms Young was driving home on Oct 27 last year with her young son and a 16-year-old nephew in the car.
She took a wrong turn into a street where demonstrators were protesting the death of Walter Wallace Jr, a black man shot dead by police.
Mobile phone footage showed officers using batons to smash the vehicle’s
windows and to beat her. She was hand- cuffed, arrested and taken away from her two-year-old, who lost his hearing aids. Her face was bruised and bloodied.
The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the United States, published a photograph on social media of a female officer carrying the child.
The caption said: “This child was lost during the violent riots in Philadelphia, wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness. The only thing this Philadelphia Police Officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child. We are the Thin Blue Line. And WE ARE the only thing standing between Order and Anarchy.” Two police officers were later fired.
After the settlement, Ms Young said: “Our physical injuries may heal. But the pain of seeing those images of my son in the arms of the officer, and their horrible caption written to describe that picture, may never heal.”
Kevin Mincey, her lawyer, said the police had attempted to use Ms Young’s son for “political propaganda”.
He said the child was still suffering from the traumatic incident.
Danielle Outlaw, the city’s police commissioner, said officers had “violated the mission” of her department.
Ms Young’s lawyers called for criminal charges to be brought against officers involved. They are also seeking damages from the police union, which did not comment.