Witness Calls Brookfield Teen Arrest 'Horrifying'

BROOKFIELD, WI — Brookfield police say a 13-year-old accused of shoplifting at a Burlington Coat Factory likely would have been issued a ticket had the situation not escalated.

As the scene unfolded Tuesday night in Brookfield, witnesses say at least 15 officers from three departments took part in arresting the 13-year-old, and observers say they watched in horror as the child was taken to the ground by officers.

Brookfield police say the 13-year-old started struggling with officers once they started searching his backpack for stolen items.

As the struggle ensued, a crowd formed around the incident, with several people recording what happened on their cell phones, and providing their own versions of what happened.

Brookfield police said their officers were flagged down by a security guard near the Burlington Coat Factory just after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Police said the security guard saw two children walk out of the store and that one of them may have stolen items after he was seen on store surveillance video taking items.

According to police, they found the two children walking near the store's parking lot and questioned them.

Police said the 16-year-old produced a receipt for the items he had, but the 13-year-old did not.

Police camera video showed officers searching the 13-year-old's backpack, only to find a number of items. Police questioned the 13-year-old on whether he paid for them, or stole them.

The video shows the 13-year-old struggle with police. "Stop resisting, relax," one officer said to the 13-year-old in the police camera video that was released Wednesday to the public.

"Unfortunately, during the course of his arrest he became combative and it became necessary to stabilize him to the ground," Brookfield police said in a statement."

Brookfield police said the 13-year-old spit on officers, head-butted an officer and resisted arrest during the incident.

Police said they arrested the 13-year-old on suspicion of retail theft, resisting arrest, battery to a law enforcement officer and expelling bodily fluids.

Police said the 13-year-old wasn't injured in the incident. According to Brookfield police, the 13-year-old would have otherwise been issued a ticket related to the theft case.

Witnesses Shocked, Disappointed

In a Facebook post on June 30, Ebonee McKinney said she witnessed the arrest, calling it "horrifying." She posted video of the arrest after saying that she saw events unfold as she was driving by at about 5 p.m.

"I saw two cop cars immediately make a U turn and follow them so my first reaction was to pull into the McDonald’s to make sure everything was okay," she wrote.

"The oldest boy in the orange was calm and answering the questions but the 12-year-old, you could see was terrified so the cops continued to harass him. He shout 'leave me alone' and 'keep your hands off me,'" she wrote.

McKinney said the children were begging the police to not shoot them.

"You can hear the oldest one scream the 12-year-olds name while several cops slam him on the ground and cuff and tie him up then put something black over his face, so he couldn’t see," she said.

"They all started yelling at him 'stop resisting' — the boy was already in cuffs and had several arms, elbows and legs on top of him plus something on his face where he couldn’t see," she wrote. "At this point the boy stopped moving completely and everyone watching freaked out and started yelling for the cops to get off of him and remove the face mask, so he could breathe."

A petition online calling for the officers' ouster says claims made by police that the 13-year-old was combative were false. "Brookfield Police Department released a statement which contradicts all evidence from those present. The statement describes the boy as 'combative' when there is no evidence of that conduct," the petition stated.

Travis Spell wrote a Facebook post on June 30 as well, saying he counted 15 officers, 12 squad cars and officers from both Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Butler. "[They] need to be ashamed on themselves," he wrote. Need to do better."