The father of a young boy seen in a viral video being handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car by police in Lansing, Michigan, says he will not accept an apology from the police department.
Michael Bernard was caught on that same video visibly agitated by the incident and disputing his son’s detainment by officers at his apartment complex.
His 12-year-old son, Tashawn, was just taking out the trash when he was approached by an officer searching for a car theft suspect in the area. Because his son’s clothing matched the description of the suspect, the officer cuffed and detained him.
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After Tashawn didn’t return from completing the chore, Bernard, who had been washing dishes in the kitchen, went outside to check on him. Once he saw the police presence and his son in handcuffs, he began arguing with officers to question why his son had been cuffed. One officer told Bernard that he would explain in “a little while.”
“I said, ‘No, I don’t want – I want you to tell me right now why my son is in handcuffs,’” Bernard told CNN this week, adding that his son was frightened by the encounter. “Once he saw my presence, it gave him that comfort, his daddy is here.”
It didn’t take long for police to realize their mixup. Another officer who saw the actual suspect notified police at the scene of the detainment. That’s when they released Tashawn.
Tashawn later told his father what happened from his point of view. He said that a police vehicle approached him after he finished dumping the trash, and he saw an officer get out of the car and unholster his gun.
Police released a brief report on what led up to the wrongful detainment. They called the incident an “unfortunate misunderstanding.” The Lansing Police…
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