Standing among a group of peaceful anti-racism protesters in downtown Seattle on a recent Saturday afternoon, Mando Avery held his seven-year-old son’s hand as he and three generations of his African American family finished a prayer with members of their church. Only feet away, Evan Hreha, 34, a hairstylist, arrived at the protests alone. That was when, Avery said, out of nowhere, a police officer fired mace at the group. It hit his son square in the face. As the young boy screamed and clutched on to his father, Hreha caught it all on camera. He confronted the officer he believed had maced the boy and told him the footage was going online. He then posted it on social media. The footage captures the outrage of protesters who demand to know why police maced a child, and made no attempt to help. Since then, Hreha has been arrested and spent two days in jail for what some are calling police retribution for a video which went viral. The young boy is still traumatized, reeling from the chemical burn on his cheek and asking his parents what he did to deserve it.“I would say that you were targeting my boy,” Avery told the Guardian, asked what he would say to police.“I don’t know if you were trying to set an example and strike fear into him. You did a great job.”What upsets him most, Avery said, is that officers and a group of emergency medical technicians standing about a block away did not step in to help.“No officer, who’s paid to protect, chose to stand up, break the ranks, go help this child,” he said.“I just don’t understand how any of them can sleep.”Police violence and arrests in response to mostly peaceful protests have become one of the themes of nationwide demonstrations triggered by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Protesters have been teargassed, beaten, hit with rubber bullets and kettled. Thousands have reported injuries, some life-threatening, with thousands more arrested. Many face jail time. After the first weekend of protests in Seattle, the city’s Office of Police Accountability reported at least 12,000 complaints. The majority were related to Avery’s son, whose name is being withheld to protect his privacy. The OPA has said it is expediting its investigation. Last week, officials announced they would ban the use of teargas during protests for 30 days. On Saturday 30 May, Avery said, his family drove nearly an hour north from Tacoma, Washington, to be a part of the anti-racism movement and fight for police reform. The family has received some criticism online about bringing their young child to the protests. But when they circled the blocks around the demonstrations, looking for parking, they spotted other families with young children and pets. It felt completely safe, they said. Within 45 minutes, the boy, who will be entering third grade in the fall, had been maced. Shenelle Williams, his mother, said hearing his scream was the “most gut-wrenching feeling”.“I kind of feel like a failure as well,” she said,
All data is taken from the source:
https://www.theguardian.com/Article Link:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
#said #ldsnews #dallasnews #news #nytimes #cnn #newsnow
Outrage over video showing police macing child at Seattle protest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jAMq...