BRUNSWICK, GA. – On Sept. 7, an officer with the Brunswick Police Department stepped out of his car and walked toward two teenagers.
“Fellas,” he said as he approached them, according to body-worn camera footage.
A 13-year-old was on his bike next to a 19-year-old he calls his “brother.”
Officer Sasser is questioning the 13-year-old because he is riding on the sidewalk and doesn’t have lights on his bike.
“Couple things,” he said. “How old are ya’ll?”
“I’m old enough,” the 19-year-old said.
That’s when the situation intensified.
“My business is not with you,” the officer responded.
After some additional back-and-forth, the 13-year-old stepped off his bike and the officer took him to the ground.
“Put your hands behind your back,” the officer said.
“I’m 13 bro. I’m 13,” the teen said.
The 19-year-old called for “mom” who was in the house.
The 13-year-old then got up and ran to the carport of his house.
“I’m about to tase you,” the officer said when he caught up.
With his hands up, the officer took the boy into custody.
“I don’t believe that’s how a law enforcement officer should treat any citizen,” said Ryan Gordon who is the 13-year-old’s father. “But definitely not a 13 year old child.”
Gordon said his son shouldn’t have run but said he knew he was scared after being taken to the ground by an adult.
“I’m so grateful it went the way that it did,” he said. “But it could have ended much worse.”
The parents of the teen filed a complaint with the police department. They said the child “feared for his life.”
Brunswick Police released a statement on Facebook. In that, it said the officer acted within the department policy and Georgia law.
The department added that it will be changing policy to “ensure officers properly identify themselves upon approaching our citizens, particularly in non-emergency encounters.”
But Gordon said the statement wasn’t enough.
“There was no accountability,” he said. “There was no action. There was no apology at all in that.”
News4JAX shared the body-camera video with Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney.
“You know my first reaction when I saw that was I had hoped that it was gonna turn out better than it did,” he said.
He said once a person starts running that a law enforcement officer has no idea what that person might do.
“He needs to dispel the curiosity or suspicion that has been raised by the actions of those two,” he said.
But he said filing a complaint is the right thing to do. He added that it’s important for there to be documentation of everything that occurred.
Hackney said regardless of the result of that complaint it’s better than trying to debate it on the side of the road during the incident.
The police department said the mayor’s office and commission have been made aware of the incident.
News4JAX is told those departments will be looking into what unfolded.