Mother Starts Petition to Drop Charges Against 14 Year-Old Son Arrested for "Dehumanizing" Stare
Friday, June 07, 2013
Fourteen year-old Tremaine McMillian was at Haulover Beach on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, when he was arrested by two Metro-Dade police officers who charged him with resisting arrest with violence and disorderly conduct. The officers also accused Tremaine of giving them “dehumanizing" stares.
McMillian disagrees with the officers’ account of what transpired and went on to say he was bottle feeding a puppy and could not have made the gestures of which he is accused. Cell phone video that has made the social media and internet news circuit shows a physical altercation between the two officers and the teen.
Tremaine’s mother, Maurissa Holmes, has started a petition asking State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle to drop the charges against him. The petition can be accessed here: http://www.change.org/petitions/drop-charges-against-my-son-tremaine-who-was-attacked-by-police-while-holding-a-puppy.
A trial date has been set for July 16. Mark that date on your calendar and follow the news for updates.
The video looks like overreaction and unnecessary force on the part of the cops. I have enough cop friends to know that sometimes situations look bad, on the part of the police, when they are not and sometimes the situation really is bad on the part of the police --- let’s be real. This isn’t one of those “I hate cops” blogs, so slow your roll, if that’s what you think.
“Neutralize” the threat
There should be a better way of resolving this situation that doesn’t involve this boy having a felony charge placed on his record. Too many young black males, yes, I’m going there, become a part of the prison pipeline because of incidents such as this and zero-tolerance. I don’t know Tremaine or either of the officers. I do know that if Tremaine is not already a hardened criminal, let’s not turn him into one because of a relatively minor incident.
Does law enforcement deserve respect? YES Fear? NO. For sure, at least three people know what happened on this past Memorial Day at Haulover that resulted in Tremaine being subdued, choked, and arrested --- Tremaine and the two police officers. Even the three of them probably view the situation slightly differently.
This is another teachable moment. Without accusing anyone of anything or taking anyone’s side, use this incident as a means of informing your friends and family on how to respond when stopped by police. Go to the ACLU’s website for general tips on your rights and how to respond based on certain situations.
-vb
Related Link: Know Your Rights: What To Do If You're Stopped By Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI
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I was the daughter of a cop, I was the wife of a cop, and I spent 2 years of college studying Criminal Justice, so I think I have a better than average grasp of this situation. I first heard of this story in an email asking I go sign the petition. I read Maurissa's story, then did a search, and ended up here where I could finally view the video spoken of. After seeing the video I will absolutely go and sign this petition. Not necessarily because of the 'story', but because of what I see. The officers themselves admitted once they got to Tremaine they realized there was no fight going on. Now whether asking "why" could be considered "lipping off" (not in my book and it would have been my first question too), a cop replying "because I asked you to" has never been a legal warning to not "resist arrest". The very first thing I noticed in this video is that the size of this child is visibly smaller than either of these cops. From the bit I saw, I would like to know WHO was fighting with this cop, because Tremaine is hardly moving and certainly not 'resisting', while one cop is laying across him with his arm choking him and the other cop looks to be pinning one of Tremaine's legs to the ground while he "searches" him. I also spent 5 years working in a school full of teenagers, so I've seen a lot of "stares" from teenagers. What I would like to know is how to identify a "dehumanizing" stare.
Posted by: Deb | Sunday, June 09, 2013 at 08:22 PM
Hi! I've been following your website for a long time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the good work!
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