LAPD investigating officer's alleged 'chokehold' used on 17-year-old in South LA
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating another officer's use of force, after the officer was allegedly seen on video putting a 17-year-old in a chokehold.
Video shared with FOX 11 shows portions of an incident that took place in South LA on June 30, near 62nd and Main streets.
In the cellphone video, an LAPD officer is seen restraining a 17-year-old. The officer’s arm appeared to be wrapped around the teen’s neck.
"My son could have been George Floyd at that time," said Aiesha Lester, the teen’s mother. "I’m furious about them choking him."
A spokesperson from LAPD said the incident started after Newton Division officers noticed the teen inside a vehicle illegally double-parked.
"On Sunday, June 30, 2024, around 10:30 p.m., an incident occurred involving law enforcement officers in the area of 70th Street and Main Street," according to a LAPD spokesperson. "During their patrol, the officers observed several vehicles double-parked on 70th Street, west of Main Street. Upon approaching, the officers noted individuals smoking cannabis and consuming alcoholic beverages. The officers observed a subject inside a vehicle who appeared to place an unknown item under the front passenger seat. When the subject exited the vehicle, he fled from the officers. Officers pursued the subject and a non-categorical use of force occurred. The officers struggled with the subject, at one point a TASER was used but was ineffective."
In the cellphone video, something happens off camera before the teen and police officer come back into frame, wrestling. The two then fall to the pavement. Authorities point out that the teen can be seen wearing an ankle monitor.
"He’s a minor," said Lester. "He’s a kid. You didn’t give him the opportunity to explain himself. It’s sad these kids are being judged or profiled based on their size, colors, tattoos, or neighborhood."
Another incident from Sunday involving the LAPD has also sparked a use of force investigation. In a now viral video, an LAPD officer is seen punching Alexander Donta Mitchell in the face following a traffic stop for illegal double-parking. The LAPD said that officer has been pulled from field duties pending an investigation. Family, friends, and an attorney held a rally Tuesday outside police headquarters demanding the officer be charged criminally.
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"I thank everybody in that community for putting their phones out," said An’tneal Harris, Mitchell’s mother. "If it hadn’t been for the phones, we wouldn’t know nothing."
"This officer doesn’t deserve a badge or a gun," said Najee Ali, a community activist. "He deserves to have handcuffs put on him. He deserves to be put in jail for what he did."
As for the incident within LAPD’s Newton Division and the 17-year-old, LAPD claims the teen injured two police officers.
"Additional officers arrived on the scene and the subject was taken into custody and arrested for Battery on a Police Officer," said the LAPD spokesperson. "The subject, a 17-year-old male, was transported to a local hospital where he was cleared for booking at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. The District Attorney's Office has filed two counts of Penal Code 69 (Resisting an Executive Officer) against the subject. Both officers involved in the incident were transported to the hospital. One officer sustained minor cuts to his right wrist, upper lip, and abrasions to his knees. The second officer sustained cuts on her hands and wrists, abrasions on her knees, and reported pain to her jaw."
Both use of force LAPD cases remain under investigation.
"If you guys feel like you’re so intimidated by these minorities [or] people out here, get another job," said Lester.