A video has surfaced that appears to show a Minneapolis police officer threatening to break a teenager’s leg during a traffic stop. Hamza Jeylani, 17, who recorded the cellphone video, told MRP News that he and his friends had left a YMCA on March 18 when police pulled them over. The four young men, of Somali descent, believe that they were victims of racial profiling, and an advocacy group is now calling for a federal investigation, according to the Huffington Post.
Jeylani’s smartphone captured about 30 seconds of the encounter. An officer says, “Plain and simple, if you f—k with me, I’m going to break your leg before you get the chance to run. I’m being honest; I don’t screw around.”
When one of the young men asks why they are being arrested, the officer responds, “Because I feel like arresting you.”
The teens were handcuffed and detained for about 45 minutes while the officers searched their vehicle. But the young men were not charged with a crime.
Many viewers were shocked and outraged when the video appeared on social media. The Minneapolis Police Department has launched an internal-affairs investigation, but there are concerns in the community that a police investigation will somehow excuse what appears to be clear police misconduct. Consequently, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a leading Muslim advocacy organization, is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident.
Read more at MPR News and the Huffington Post.