Black Boy, 8, Detained By Syracuse Police Over Stolen Chips: Video

SYRACUSE, NY — Syracuse police are under fire after a video shot Easter Sunday showed an officer detain an 8-year-old child and place him in the back of his cruiser over a stolen bag of chips.

In the video shot Sunday by Kenneth Jackson, a white Syracuse police officer is holding the distraught child from behind by his elbows, leading him from a sidewalk to the back seat of a police vehicle. Another officer says the situation is about "stealing stuff." The man recording the video argues with the police to let the child go.

As of Wednesday, the video had been viewed on Facebook more than 54,000 times.

According to Syracuse.com, the video was posted after police took the boy and two others home. Police did not press charges or make them pay for the chips, the boy's father, Anthony Weah, told Syracuse.com.

That's when the video surfaced on social media. In it, the 8-year-old boy sobs as he's led to the back of the police cruiser. The adults, including the police officers, shouted at each other.

"The policeman, they are not children,” Weah told the publication. "They are not boys, they’re men."

Dozens of people weighed in the hours after the video was posted, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who at a news conference Wednesday called the situation "heartwrenching."

"We have more work to do, and I know that the mayor is working closely with the police department to get to the bottom of everything," said Hochul, a Democrat, according to The Associated Press reported. "But also make sure that we do protect our children — that they’re handled in a different way when it comes to encounters with law enforcement."

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh also issued a statement following the video's release, reiterating that officers did not handcuff the boy.

"The officer knew the child from prior interactions and explained to him that he was being taken home," Walsh said. "The officers returned the child to his family and discussed the incident with his father before leaving without filing any charges," he said, according to a separate report by Syracuse.com.

Syracuse police said Tuesday the department would review the officers' actions and body-worn camera footage.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.