The video is of an incident that unfolded Friday afternoon around 7:00 pm at the playground of Harvard Park Elementary. According to police, they were responding to reports of alleged criminal activity in the area. When the police arrived they demanded all the children vacate the playground.
Apparently, the children didn't leave the playground fast enough or moved to the other side of it, which caused all hell to break loose. As the brief video shows, the officers attempt to grab some of the children and one of them falls to the ground.
Once the officer is on top of the child on the ground he begins to dole out punches to the boy's face and chest. It is unclear what caused the officer to begin beating the child. However, it appears it was not at all necessary and could've sparked a much more serious incident.
The Springfield police department noted that they are aware of the video and are 'investigating' the incident. However, they noted that both of the officers in the video remain on regular duty.
Over the weekend, after the video began to go viral, the Springfield police department issued the following statement attempting to justify the use of violence against the children.
On May 26, shortly after 7:00 p.m., officers responded to multiple calls for service regarding a large group of juveniles gathered on the grounds and in the area of Harvard Park Elementary School, located at 2501 S. 11th Street. Some of the juveniles were reportedly involved in alleged criminal activity. Upon arrival, officers immediately began to disperse the crowd. The group reconvened on the east side of the school, at which time officers again told the juveniles that they needed to leave.As Felipe Hemming notes for photography is not a crime, none of the above statement excuses these officer's actions, as this escalation to this level of force as is not needed ever when interacting with children or for that matter adults, when there is no crime occurring nor the safety of the public at risk. Once the dust settles and we can get access to the police incident reports, I am sure the creative writing skills of the individuals involved will include text regarding violent resistance and fear for their safety because some children were playing in a school yard playground.
Rather than leaving, two juveniles continued to disobey officers' commands and became aggressive towards the officers. The juveniles actively resisted arrest and force was used to take them into custody. One officer suffered minor injuries during the incident.
The two juveniles involved in the incident were arrested for aggravated battery to a police officer, mob action and resisting arrest.
The officers involved remain on duty at this time.
Anyone with additional information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Springfield Police Department at 217.788.8325.
Police officers assaulting children is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident. Just this weekend, the Free Thought Project reported the story of police officers in Virginia Beach who allegedly held 4 young children at gunpoint as they played outside during their first day of summer.
The parents of children have since filed a complaint noting that the police had no reason to assault the four boys with a deadly weapon. Naturally, the police deny any wrongdoing.
Reader Comments
Be wary of being told how to think.
Personally, because I deal with kids this age all the time, I feel like the actions taken by the officers may have been justified.
There is a complete lack of respect coming from youth today towards any form of authority. Obviously, not all children today act that way, but a vast majority of them look at what is being said about the police and other authority figures in the news and social media and they are taking it as an excuse to ignore, inflame or mock those who try to correct their behavior.
The snowflake syndrome has found a home in these kids and they are being raised believing that no one has a right to tell them the proper way to behave, including their parents.
I fear for the future of America when these self-righteous and self-centered youths take government offices.
Oh wait, it probably wont be much different than it is now, come to think of it.
Who gives cops so called authority? We do and respect goes both ways.
Children should be taught to question everything, especially authority.
Having made these remarks, I would only offer a further personal observation. I'm old school. The police officers are adults. They win the power and age differential. I am dismayed by how inept and ill-trained most "officers of the law" appear today. I also reflect old school values by insisting that, as the holders of power and the upholders of law, our police officers are held to higher standards and cannot, in any manner, abrogate or diminish their higher level of behavior or conduct in chaotic situations. Their training should provide the basis for nonviolent, rational approaches to diminish violence or resolve emotionally provoking situations.
Take out the racial excuses by putting a cop in there that looks like they came from that neighborhood and this racial issue goes away, at least from the onset, and then the rest of the socioeconomic complaints can be heard... until then, all that the public sees is the racial one... and it makes me think this is done on purpose...