Lansing Police Department apologizes after shocking video shows officers handcuffing 12-year-old Tashawn Bernard

Shocking footage captured the moment a 12-year-old black boy was handcuffed and dragged into a police car after police mistook him for a suspect in a spate of car thefts.

Tashawn Bernard was taking out trash outside his home in Lansing, Michigan, on Thursday when he was confronted by a police officer brandishing a gun, thinking the boy was a thief who had fled on foot earlier that day.

A stunned onlooker began filming the arrest as at least four officers and a fleet of vehicles descended on the parking lot outside the schoolboy’s home, watching his father Michael berate police for “traumatizing” his son.

Officials say Tashawn matched the description of a suspect in neon green shorts and a white shirt, but his family’s lawyer reportedly disputed this, saying he was wearing a gray shirt.

The video sparked a fierce backlash that embarrassed police and the city’s mayor into issuing multiple apologies and explanations.

Bernard family lawyers, Rico and Ayanna Neal, said the 12-year-old is so distressed by the ordeal that he now “doesn’t want to go out… not even to get the mail.”

The video of the arrest was viewed more than 3.5 million times in less than a day after it was posted to TikTok, which opened with Tashawn already in handcuffs moments after dumping his trash into a large blue dumpster.

As the boy hangs his head and seems to exchange a few words with the officer, his father was heard running out of his house and exclaiming, “I am his father.”

During a virtual press conference on Friday, Michael said he knew something was wrong when Tashawn took longer than usual to take out the trash, adding that by the time he got out, “the police were all around him.” .

After seeing his son walking across the parking lot, Michael turned and put his head in his hands when the police showed up to explain the arrest.

While much of the footage is inaudible due to the distance at which it was filmed, Michael could be heard raising his voice as officers continued to justify the arrest.

“You always use that excuse, man,” he said, adding, “It doesn’t matter — once you’re black, you fit every description, the bottom line,” he added.

While Michael continues to plead his son’s case, Tashawn is led away from his father and into a police car while still handcuffed.

At that point, backup officers likely called in the earlier chase arrive at the scene and a fleet of at least three additional police SUVs roll into the parking lot.

Michael also notices the arrest being caught on film by an onlooker, leading him to walk up the sidewalk with his hands outstretched and proclaim the incident to be “bulls.”

“They’re traumatizing my son,” he continued, with the person behind the camera agreeing that the arrest was “some wrong s***.”

“All these cops for a teenager,” another person behind the camera adds, as Tashawn is finally freed from the car and untied by four officers standing around him.

The boy appears to be talking to the officers for about a minute before running back to his father on the sidewalk. As the officers slowly approached, someone was heard to say ‘now they are going to lie’.

Tashawn couldn’t even face the police as he stood next to his father in tears, while Michael beckoned the police to hurry up so he could round up and berate them.

The Bernard family say they are “examining all legal options” in the wake of the arrest, including “the possibility of filing a lawsuit,” their lawyers said. They claimed that they have not received any additional information from the police, other than what they have seen on social media.

Lansing police faced fierce backlash following the arrest, in part due to public statements intended to explain the circumstances of the arrest.

Lansing police released two statements on Friday, the first sparking anger early this morning after saying the arrest was merely a case of “wrong place, wrong time.”

In a follow-up statement again explaining how police felt Tashawn was wearing similar attire to a suspect, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosobee defended the arrest as “respectful and professional.”

Authorities said the “unfortunate misunderstanding” unfolded after a witness to a car theft “described that a suspect was wearing neon pants and a white shirt.”

“A responding officer saw a person matching this description and attempted to make contact, but the person fled and ran west to the nearby apartment complex,” the first statement read.

Another officer was nearby and saw the young man pictured in the viral video wearing a very similar outfit and contacted him. The first officer was able to respond and clarify that the young man on the video was not the suspect who fled earlier.

“Once this information was obtained, the young man was released and officers continued to search the area. Community relations is a top priority for us as a department, from the top down. We hope that we can put this unfortunate case of ‘wrong place, wrong time’ behind us and continue to represent the community we serve.”

The Facebook post included two grainy images of Tashawn next to the arrest suspect, who was wearing similarly colored clothing, but many online noted that the suspect was clearly much taller than the child.

In his follow-up statement sent hours after the first, de Sosebee defended the arrest, saying it is an unfortunate moment amid the department’s push to “address the recent auto thefts plaguing our city.”

In addition, officers yesterday detained a young man wearing similar clothing who was in the same apartment complex as a suspected car thief who fled officers on foot,” the statement continued.

“When the officer made first contact, it was near a trash can, but after throwing out all the trash. The young man was then released to his father when he was eliminated as the accused.

The commander on the scene contacted the young man’s father and explained the situation and apologized for the misunderstanding. I have reviewed the incident and can confirm that the officer who contacted the young man and detained him during his investigation was respectful and professional.

“It is unfortunate that incidents like this happen, but through communication and information sharing, we can help people understand the whole story,” the police chief concluded.

While apologizing for “this incident had such an effect on this young man and his family,” Sosobee urged the community to “consider all the facts of the situation before passing judgment.”