By Police1 Staff
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Police released body camera footage of a March 24 interaction between eight officers and five juveniles that has drawn criticism.
According to MLive.com, officers were looking for a group of teenagers after receiving reports of a fight at a basketball court. The witness said the teens fled and one dropped a revolver.
During the search, Officer Caleb Johnson found five teens, ages ranging from 12 to 14, walking and exited his vehicle with his weapon drawn.
Johnson told the teens to get on the ground, but some did not follow the order due to confusion, MLive.com reported.
Backup arrived and detained the five teens. Police determined the teenagers were free to go and released them to their parents. But the parents were angry that police drew their guns during the interaction.
Police Chief David Rahinsky said the officers did their job correctly and were following protocol.
“I think when the community sees what we’ve seen — with the body worn camera footage; I think they’ll have a different opinion. I respect their emotion. I think what we’re hearing is a lot of grief and frustration to systemic issues,” Rahinsky said.