On the afternoon of Saturday, August 11th, at the corner of Laurel Ave and Schubert St (Between Rec Park and Horace Mann Elementary School), several white police officers stopped and detained two young Black teenagers.
A 13-year-old girl was a placed in handcuffs, with witnesses at the scene describing officers forcefully lifting her off the ground after she was restrained. She was accused of spray painting a nearby wall. The girl was in distress, which prompted multiple residents to stop and document the interaction. She was later released to her parent after spending nearly a half hour in handcuffs.
A 14-year-old boy with developmental disabilities was also inexplicably stopped, searched, and taken into custody while observing the event. He was pinned down by three officers before being handcuffed and locked in a police van, where he repeatedly banged his head on a security panel as officers stood by.
Additional officers arrived on the scene, escalating the situation with the children and frightened witnesses observing the incident.
A first-hand account of the incident can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10212830878591140&id=1364063380
video is here: https://facebook.com/BingPLOT/videos/2060104890689388/
A community rally demanding justice for these two children abused and assaulted by Binghamton Police was held on Aug 17th at 5:45pm at 104 Laurel Ave.
[Details and updates from the PLOT facebook page]
PLOT (August 16) demands and Media Advisory:
August 16, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY
BINGHAMTON, NY — On the afternoon of Saturday, August 11th, in the parking lot of Horace Mann Elementary School (on the corner of Laurel Ave and Schubert St), several white Binghamton Police officers confronted and detained two Black children, arresting one. A handful of concerned residents and bystanders stopped to document the interaction.
One of the children, a 13-year-old girl, was handcuffed for allegedly spray painting a nearby wall. While restrained, the child exhibited signs of distress—crying for her parents and shrieking in pain. The child was eventually released from police custody upon her parent’s arrival, after having spent nearly half an hour in handcuffs.
The second child, a 14-year-old boy with various cognitive and developmental disabilities, was inexplicably stopped, detained, and searched twice while witnessing the event. He was eventually pinned down by three officers, handcuffed, and confined to a mobile police unit—where he proceeded to bash his head on a security panel without intervention.
Throughout this ordeal, Binghamton Police officers repeatedly harassed and intimidated onlookers documenting the incident.
The highly disturbing use of force and escalation on the part of Binghamton Police officers to restrain and detain children has led concerned community members to gather in protest. We will convene Friday, August 17th, to demand justice for the trauma imposed upon the two children. In response to the officers’ failure to conduct themselves appropriately after having been made aware of the age and mental state of the children—in addition to the unnecessary provocation of children and bystanders alike—we issue the following demands:
- Immediate termination of all officers involved in the 8/11/18 incident in the Horace Mann Elementary School parking lot in Binghamton
- Immediate implementation of a Civilian Police Review Board with subpoena power, to allow community members to hold law enforcement officials accountable when they commit crimes against residents
- Immediate compensation from the City of Binghamton Bureau of Police to the families of the two children involved in the 8/11/18 incident, for counseling and mental health services and related expenses
- Timely and transparent public access to statistical demographics and data collection on ALL vehicle and pedestrian stops in the City of Binghamton
- Adjunct De-Escalation and Disability Awareness & Intervention Training for Binghamton Police officers who engage with the public
In addition to these demands, PLOT (@BingPLOT) is releasing video documentation of Saturday’s incident to the public, and will be hosting a public meeting and Bystander Intervention Training, Monday August 27, 6pm to 8:30pm, at United Presbyterian Church, 42 Chenango St, Binghamton.
a few pictures of the rally:
