A Pennsylvania man is calling out a police department after he says an officer racially profiled his son.
Jessie Lopez posted a video of his 18-year-old son, Jessie Lopez Jr., walking through a neighborhood in Williamsport on Wednesday. He spoke with the Atlanta Black Star about what happened.
The video shows Lopez’s son walking across the street with a police officer following him. The teenager is wearing a jacket with his hood pulled over his head.
“He just left my house and was walking to my mom’s house,” he said. “As he was walking, he noticed that an undercover car was following him.”
Lopez said his son cut through a yard to try to get away from the officer. But the officer was able to catch up.
“It’s a warm day to be wearing that jacket,” the officer said in the video as the teenager recorded him. “You’re going to get hit by a car.”
Lopez Jr. ignores the officer as he crosses the street. The officer continues to tell him to stop before grabbing his shoulder.
“Doing a traffic stop on ya, you walked across the road in front of a car,” the officer said.
A police officer generally has the right to stop a citizen on the street and ask them questions. They can do this even if they don’t think the person committed a crime.
But the citizen has the right not to comply with the officer’s request, especially if there is no reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed.
“My son is a good kid; he works two jobs,” Lopez said. “He just graduated from high school, and we’re trying to get him signed up for the Navy. I try to stay on top of him myself. He might be 18, but you know, he’s my baby.”
In another video Lopez posted, his son is sitting in the back of a police cruiser. You can see that he has handcuffs on. His eyes also appear to be puffy from crying.
Lopez said he was detained for refusing to stop and answer questions.
“Just looking at my son’s face sitting in the back of that car hurts my heart, man,” Lopez wrote in the caption. “As a father, that’s a moment I never wanted him to experience.”
Lopez added that he plans to educate his children on how to interact with police.
“This was a lesson for both of us,” Lopez said. “I need to make sure he knows how to interact with police, even when he feels he’s done nothing wrong. Things can escalate fast.”
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the Williamsport Bureau of Police for more details on the encounter. They referred our reporter to District Attorney Tom Marino’s office.
When our reporter called to speak with Marino, the receptionist confirmed she knew what the call was about and then hung up.
Williamsport authorities later confirmed the man is part of the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit.
“[That officer] is just a nuisance,” Lopez said. He alleged there are multiple misconduct allegations involving that officer.
Multiple people reached out to our reporter online with the same claims. None of the allegations have been confirmed.
The Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office said the officer was undercover in the area when he saw Lopez Jr. He was investigating a series of shootings that happened a few days before.
According to a statement sent to WOLF on Friday, the teen was deemed suspicious because he was wearing a “puffy jacket” with a hood up despite the temperatures of about 80 degrees.
Lopez Sr. said he wants to see the body camera footage of the interaction. He also told Atlanta Black Star he is actively looking into pursuing legal action.
The officer’s identity has not been officially confirmed.
