NORFOLK — A video posted on Facebook Monday that appears to show two Norfolk Police officers arresting a juvenile in a parking lot has gone viral.
The video — which has more than 46,000 views and has been shared 1,711 times at the time of publication — was recorded by Shiba Tynes and posted on her publicly-accessible Facebook page.
The video shows two white police officers searching the pockets of a young black man in a parking lot near the corner of Armistead Avenue and 19th Street in Norfolk. The juvenile is Tynes’ cousin, according to the post.
The video shows the juvenile loudly complaining about the physical position he’s been placed in by the officers, at one point yelling “how and I supposed to stand up straight when you’re putting pressure on me?”
Bystanders can be overheard in the video saying the juvenile had just gotten off a bus and was walking down the street when police began questioning him.
According to a statement from police, “the officers stopped the 16-year-old under the suspicion of truancy, not being in school during school hours,” although bystanders claimed the juvenile was stopped over an alleged robbery in the area.
Bystanders also said the juvenile had been pepper-sprayed by police prior to the recording of the video, and the juvenile can be heard saying he was pepper sprayed.
Police confirmed in a statement that pepper spray was used on the juvenile, who was treated by paramedics at the scene.
The video contains strong language and viewer discretion is advised.
https://www.facebook.com/shiba.tynes/videos/10204989499055382/
Tynes and members of the juvenile’s family were not immediately available for comment.
What isn’t clear are the circumstances leading up to the video recording, although a second video of the incident shows the officers minutes before the first video clip.
In that second video, officers can be seen struggling to untangle the juvenile’s backpack after her was handcuffed. The juvenile appears to be crying out in discomfort.
According to a news release from the city, the Norfolk Police’s Office of Professional Standards has opened an internal investigation regarding the circumstances of the incident.
Police officials wrote in a separate news release “the officers involved in the incident remain on duty and no officers were injured.”
The juvenile was arrested and later released to his parents, according to the police news release. Charges for teen will be determined at the conclusion of the internal investigation, police said.
