Mayor G.T. Bynum and the president of the Tulsa police Black Officers Coalition on Wednesday responded to police body camera video released Tuesday showing white officers handcuffing and later arresting a black teen. The arrest occurred after he and another teen were stopped for jaywalking."I want every kid in Tulsa to feel safe to walk down the street in their neighborhood. No Tulsa kid should have to fear being tackled and cuffed for walking down the street," Bynum wrote in a Facebook post."I viewed that footage last night more as a parent than a mayor. I know the officers in that unit focus on removal of illegal guns from the streets, but the goal of that work should be that families feel safe in their neighborhood."This instance accomplished the opposite. This specific instance is under investigation, but I am also going to work with Chief (Wendell) Franklin to review the way that unit goes about its work in general. We can do better."
Meanwhile, Lt. Marcus Harper, president the Tulsa Black Officers Coalition, said the incident is an example of police culture that needs to be changed from within.
"Here's the reality of it: That's the culture of policing. That's the cold hard facts," he said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon."The issue is, are you policing other communities the exact same way?"
The two officer body camera videos show police detaining two black teens for jaywalking about 5 p.m. Thursday in the 1300 block of North Osage Drive, police said in a news release.
Each video lasts about 21 minutes. They show at least one officer forcing a teen to the ground and then holding him down with his arms and knees while the teen was handcuffed lying on his stomach.
The second teen in the video was also handcuffed, but he was not being "aggressive," one officer says."That was my neighborhood, where I live, where that took place. Right down the street from where I live," Harper said. "Are you policing other neighborhoods the exact same way that you are policing north Tulsa neighborhoods? And as a 25 and a half year veteran, it's not happening. That is the reality of it," Harper said."So we can give all the excuses ... they were doing this and they were doing that ... it's not happening in other parts of town."
Police in a news release on Tuesday said an internal investigation into the incident has been initiated.
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