A single mother in Michigan is calling for justice after her son was wrongfully detained by police twice.x
Martricia Spearman spoke with the Atlanta Black Star about the recent incidents. She said officers with the Battle Creek Police Department detained her son twice in 10 days.
“The first time was June 4,” she told our reporter. “He was walking back to his aunt’s house with no shoes on his feet.”
Body camera video posted by WWMT revealed what happened.
Body Camera Exposes Cops
“Come here,” the officer told Spearman’s 16-year-old son, Jeremiah, in the video.
“I’m just in my socks. I ain’t even do nothin’,” Jeremiah responded. “I was just walking home.”
The officers then tackle the teenager to the ground. The video shows Jeremiah crying out in pain as the officers handcuff him.
“Oh, my God. I don’t even got nothing,” Jeremiah cried.
In a police report obtained by News 8, officers wrote that it was unusual that Spearman wasn’t wearing any shoes. They also said he repeatedly turned away and looked down when they confronted him. But the video shows Jeremiah backing up with his hands out.
“This is stupid. I don’t have nothing. I was just walking home. This is dumb,” Jeremiah said as officers handcuffed him.
Police then searched the nearby trees and sidewalk, believing the teenager may have dropped something.
“They looked everywhere for something he might have pitched. They can’t find anything,” an officer in the video said. That same officer said Jeremiah needed to be released to his mother.
But as officers waited for Spearman to arrive, Jeremiah tried to pull away several times. But the video shows one officer forcing him to sit on the curb.
“You slammed me for no f—king reason,” the teenager said.
“Well, when someone runs and pulls away from me, doesn’t listen, I slam ‘em,” the officer replied.
Second Encounter with Officers
Atlanta Black Star previously reported on the teenager’s second detainment on June 14.
“Someone call my mom! This is the second time,” he yelled as three officers put him in handcuffs.
“It’s very upsetting to know that this is the neighborhood we live in and this is how they look at us,” the teen’s mother said. “Like we all just out here on bulls—t or carrying around weapons. It makes me very upset. I got six boys.”
Spearman told Atlanta Black Star that several other parents have reached out to her about the story. She identified the officer involved in both incidents as Nicholas Cooper. The police department has yet to confirm the officer’s identity.
“A lot of moms on here are like ‘yeah, the officer did that to my son’,” Spearman said. “I feel like maybe they just didn’t want to speak up or cause a bigger issue.”
Battle Creek Police Chief Shannon Bagley backed the officer’s actions.
“The decision to stop and briefly detain the individual was appropriate,” Bagley said. “The officer’s approach was calm and focused on resolving the situation safely.”
Atlanta Black Star made multiple attempts to reach out to Bagley but was told he was out of town for the week.
The Spearmans are expected to meet with him and the NAACP next week.
