Mississippi police officer loses job following arrest of Black 10-year-old for public urination
A Mississippi police officer has lost his job after being investigated for arresting a Black child, The Washington Post shared today (Aug. 23).
The 10-year-old boy had been seen publicly urinating. He was taken to the police station, despite an officer locating his mother shortly after the encounter with the kid, who urinated behind his parent’s car while she was in an attorney’s office because there were not any public restrooms available.
While the department did not reveal the race of the involved officers, the situation received backlash from many. It was immediately hailed as another incident of misconduct by the police against Black communities.
Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler released a statement on Monday (Aug. 21) via Facebook. Chandler stated the officer’s decisions violated the department’s written policy and were against prior training on how to handle that type of situation. Authorities also acknowledged that although the boy wasn’t handcuffed, the entire ordeal was an “error in judgment,” The Washington Post noted.
The latest statement revealed that the other officers involved in the arrest will also face disciplinary action, but details on what kind were not shared. Furthermore, the post did not say whether the cop who lost his job was fired or resigned.
Latonya Eason, the boy’s mother, responded to the statement with, “His apology is not good enough for me.” She is planning to pursue legal action. Eason posted a picture of her son sitting in the back of the police car on Facebook, urging others to spread the word. On another post, she said, “No 10-year-old should go through this.”
During an interview, the child stated that he felt scared and cried because he did not know what was going to happen to him. Before being released to his mother, he was given a referral to youth court. In his statement, Chandler also mentioned the Youth Court Act, which allows officers to file a citation against children for delinquent acts that would be illegal for adults.
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