The Met Police rammed a 13-year-old Black boy after mistaking his water pistol for the real thing. This incident traumatized the innocent kid, giving him nightmares for three months.
Although the Metropolitan Police issued a public apology regarding the mistake, the law enforcement agency is still facing heavy criticism, especially from the victim's mother.
Black Boy Traumatized by London Police After Mistaking His Water Pistol for Real Gun
According to The Guardian's latest report, the incident happened on July 19 while the Black kid was playing in a street near his house at around 4:00 p.m.
The victim, who was playing with a blue-and-white water pistol, was having a fun moment with her sister, who also had a similar pink-and-white toy gun.
But, these innocent kids weren't expecting that their innocent bonding would become a nightmare, especially for the brother.
While they were playing, a Met police officer passed by. After seeing the 13-year-old's water pistol, he thought it was a real gun being brandished.
Because of this, the cop decided to call another armed police officer. BBC News UK reported that a police van even rammed the black child off his bicycle.
This traumatizing action made by the police authorities knocked the Black kid to the ground. After that, armed cops surrounded the victim; some of them even pointed their "real guns" at the 13-year-old kid.
The victim was incorrectly arrested due to suspicion of being in possession of a real firearm. However, the Metropolitan Police discovered that what the kid was carrying was only a water pistol toy.
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Black Boy's Mother Felt Betrayed by Met Police
The Black kid's trauma counselor said that the victim is still suffering from nightmares three months after the traumatizing mistake of the Metropolitan Police.
The victim's mother said that she felt broken and betrayed by the Met Police. She shared that cops only released her son after she intervened in the arrest.
The mother was devastated when she arrived at the scene and saw her beloved son placed in handcuffs.
"The attitude of the police to him - and to me - is shown up in the words of the senior officer at the scene when I protested to him about the conduct of his officers: he told me I was lucky that they had not arrested my son," said the parent.
"For what? For playing with a brightly colored plastic water gun with his younger sibling on the streets behind our home? For being a black boy on the streets of Hackney?" asked the mother.
She explained that if her son had been a 13-year-old white boy, the Met police wouldn't have acted the way they did. The mother further stated that if they were not Black, they would not have been treated that way; the police wouldn't described her as an aggressive mother.
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