There isn’t a nice way to put this: A graphic video, recorded on a cellphone by a teenager, has been circulating on social media, and to call it disturbing is to put it lightly. On Thursday, a Florida cop was captured on video slamming an unarmed black teenager’s head into the ground. The teen, who has been identified as a 15-year-old named Lucca, later identified Deputy Christopher Krickovich as the person who pinned him down and slammed his head into the ground outside of a McDonald’s in Tamarac, Florida.
Sergeant Greg Lacerra is seen in the same video.
In addition to the viral video, photos of the 15-year-old have also circulated. There is blood all over the student’s face.
As reported by the Miami Herald, the officers said they had been assigned to that location because of a fight that took place there the day before. The two cops arrested a teen who, according to Krickovich, wasn’t allowed at the McDonald’s because of that fight. That’s the background. Here’s where the situation in the video takes place.
After the teen, who was allegedly trespassing, was arrested and put on the ground, his cellphone fell out of his pocket. Lucca seemingly tried to pick it up, presumably because the two are friends and he didn’t want the cellphone to be broken or lost in the shuffle. That’s where things don’t just get ugly; they get disturbing and violent.
The videos that have been circulating are embedded below.
Another warning: It’s graphic.
Lacerra pepper-sprayed the teen, after which the 15-year-old tried to walk away. He was pepper-sprayed because, according to the police, he took an “aggressive stance” while going for the phone.
Krickovich pushes Lucca to the ground. While Lucca’s trying to cover his face, the officer hits him twice on the head with one hand and uses his other hand to slam him into the ground.
Which brings us to the question: Why was it necessary to hit and slam the teenager after he’d just been pepper-sprayed? It wasn’t. (Neither was the pepper spray, but the situation got so disturbing, that part pales in comparison.)
A video from a different angle seems to show the pepper spray in action:
Bystanders can be heard yelling, “He’s bleeding!” and "What are you doing?" in the background.
An Instagram user wrote a post with what they allege happened:
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That big b*tch got bullied in school , decided to be a cop and doesnt no how to act.. 🖕🏿🖕🏿🖕🏿🖕🏿👮♂️👮♂️👮♂️ #Repost @shaunking • • • • • • Let me tell you what this 15 year old boy, Lucca, in the red tank top did. He’s a kind, sweet soul. He bent down to pick up the cell phone of another boy who was also wrongly arrested. The phone fell out during his arrest. He didn’t want it to get broken. When he stood up, the officer sprayed his face with pepper spray then proceeded to brutally assault him. These kids were gathered at a local McDonalds after school when police showed up. Lucca broke no laws. Was unarmed. Non-violent. Police then charged HIM with assault on an officer and resisting arrest. Neither, as you can see, are true. These are Broward County Sheriffs Christopher Krickovich & Sgt. Greg LaCerra. Now ask yourself why this unarmed nonviolent Black boy was brutally assaulted and the white men who shot up schools, churches, and movie theaters, slaughtering men, women, and children, were arrested without a single scratch. You know the answer. #justiceforlucca
A post shared by Markese Ture (@ceo_kese) on Apr 20, 2019 at 9:52am PDT
“I had to act quickly, fearing I would get struck or having a student potentially grab weapons off my belt,” Krickovich said in his arrest report. He noted that he acted out of “fear.”
If you are afraid of teenagers, perhaps you shouldn’t be a cop? And if your reaction to your own fear is to inflict remarkable violence on a teenager, again, perhaps you shouldn’t be a cop?
”Fear” is also loaded here in a way we can’t glide over. For example, studies have shown that police (in particular) see black children as less innocent than white ones. And people (not just police, but the general population) see black men as not only more threatening than white men, but also as physically bigger.
All of this results in police brutality.
Oh—and it was the teenager who was arrested and charged. The charges include resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. First he was brought to Coral Springs Medical Center, then to a juvenile assessment center. On Friday morning, he appeared in court, and was then released to his parents.
Where are we now? On Friday morning, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony released a video promising to take appropriate action:
Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen has called for the officer responsible to be fired:
On Friday, Krickovich had to surrender his badge and gun. He is now on "restricted administrative assignment" and investigation. Police violence against black children (and for that matter, black men) is an epidemic—anyone who says otherwise simply isn’t paying attention.