Video Shows Florida Cop ‘Dressed Like… G.I. Joe’ Hit Teen Cyclist with Car, Then Tackle Him to the Ground, Sparking Outrage
A Broward County sheriff’s deputy is under fire after he aggressively detained a teen boy on Monday who didn’t appear to have provoked the harsh tactics.
Video of the incident went viral, forcing the sheriff’s office to defend the deputy, who is seen ramming his gray, unmarked Chevrolet SUV into one of a group of boys. After the boy limps away, trying to get back on his bike, the deputy — who’s wearing a ski mask — jumps out of his patrol car and charges the teen, wrestling him to the ground.
The boy can be heard on the video imploring the officer repeatedly to “Stop!”
The video ends as a cavalcade of police cars marked and unmarked, arrive on the scene.
So why did a gaggle of teen bikers merit such a response from police?
Broward sheriff’s spokesperson Claudinne Caro told Miami New Times that deputies had been monitoring the boys on bikes after they were spotted allegedly performing “dangerous bicycle stunts, running red lights and blocking intersections” throughout Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach. Deputies decided their best course of action was to disperse the group, Caro said.
The deputy in question, driving an unmarked vehicle though wearing his uniform, “made contact” with the teen’s bike while “trying to maneuver around other cyclists,” she said.
The boy was brought to a local hospital following the incident, where he was issued a juvenile civil citation, a less punitive alternative to arrest used in Florida for minors who’ve committed certain misdemeanors.
Caro said other kids in the group — she did not specify how many — were also detained and cited for various violations, including disobeying red lights and not wearing bike helmets.
His age and the offense for which he was cited were not made available by the Broward sheriff. The BSO also did not disclose the deputy’s name or why he was wearing a ski mask with his full uniform while driving an unmarked car.
“Undercover? He was dressed like f–king GI Joe,” opined one Reddit user.
A boy who said he was at the gathering wrote in a comment that the teen who was hit was hosting a “rideout,” where kids ride bicycles and do stunts. The group retreated into a local neighborhood so as not to disrupt traffic, the boy claimed but were blocked from leaving by deputies who had followed them.
“Then we went into a scramble then more police grabbed some kids,” he wrote.
Police say the “rideout” was part of “an ongoing, organized pattern of reckless behavior by groups of juvenile bicyclists that encourages and rewards dangerous stunts and activities in traffic on busy South Florida roads,” Caro said in her statement. “Detectives have received numerous complaints about the behavior that poses a danger to the juveniles, motorists and pedestrians.”
One Reddit user confirmed that in Miami, bicycle gangs are a true menace.
“Bike gangs are a real problem,” he wrote. “A police response is warranted in plenty of cases. This is probably a standard thing, but with excessive force because police like to power trip, and kids are easy targets.”
Regardless, those who’ve viewed the video were mostly shocked by the deputy’s reaction.
“Did this cop just hit a kid with their car, then arrest the kid for it?” asked a Reddit user. “Please tell me the kid is wanted for something prior cause I’m not sure what I’m seeing here.”