A lawyer in Washington, D.C., is threatening lawsuits against the city and its police department after he says police “brutalized” two teens.
D.C. lawyer Peter Grenier says police wrongfully detained two teenagers and he plans to “hold all culpable individuals, as well as the District of Columbia, responsible through whatever legal means possible,” at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
The potential lawsuit stems from an incident Monday afternoon in which one of the teens, Jason Goolsby, 18, refused to comply with an officer’s commands and ran from police.
Goolsby and his friend, Michael Brown, 18, were standing near an ATM at a Citibank in the Capitol Hill neighborhood when a family with a baby stroller approached.
According to Grenier, Goolsby saw the family coming and, since the ATM was located inside, held the door open for them. When the family went inside, Goolsby heard the woman say she left something in her car, and the family left.
Goolsby and his friends were on their way to record rap music at a nearby recording studio, Grenier said. The studio session costs $35, but Jason only had $15 in his pocket.
Goolsby stopped by the ATM to pull out the $20 but at the exact moment he pulled out his card to use the ATM, according to Grenier, he received a text message from the studio owner saying he needed to postpone the session until the following evening.
Goolsby was contemplating whether or not to pull out the money anyway when the family approached. He decided not to get the money and he and his friends left the bank, Grenier said.
As the group crossed the street and walked towards a bus stop a police SUV approached them “at a very high rate of speed,” Grenier said. The SUV was so close, according to Grenier, that Goolsby was forced to jump up on the curb to avoid being run over.
When the police officer got out of his car, he told Goolsby to get down on the ground or he would pepper spray him. At this point, Goolsby ran from the police officer, apparently fearing for his life.
“Jason was well aware of the Freddie Gray incident, as well as numerous other stories of police brutality,” Grenier said. “He truly believed the officer was going to shoot him, since in his mind the officer had just tried to run him over.”
The police officer caught Goolsby, tackled him, and put him in handcuffs. At this point Brown started recording the altercation and was placed in handcuffs for getting too close and interfering with the police officers.
The pair of friends, according to Grenier, sat on the ground handcuffed for two hours before being set free. A D.C. police supervisor told them the whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Grenier said the woman called the police and said the teens hanging out by the bank made her feel uncomfortable. That is why police responded.
Grenier said the two boys had never been arrested before, though The Daily Caller News Foundation couldn’t verify that statement because juvenile arrest records are sealed.
In an interview, The Daily Caller News Foundation asked Goolsby if he actually thought the police officer was trying to run him over with his police cruiser. Goolsby didn’t respond, but Grenier, his lawyer, said he can’t speak to the officer’s intent.
The incident sparked protests the following day after the video went viral on the Internet. Black Lives Matter protesters blocked off parts of Pennsylvania Avenue near where the incident occurred.
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