Body camera video showed police officers in Rochester, New York pepper spraying a nine-year-old girl in the back of a police car.
Officers first arrived at the scene while responding to a report of “family trouble,” officials said during a press conference on Sunday. An investigation has since been opened regarding the incident, officials added.
“This is not something that any of us should want to justify,” said Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, who stated that she directed the city’s police chief to investigate the confrontation.
Police originally responded after a report stating that the girl threatened to harm herself and her mother, Rochester Deputy Chief Andre Anderson said on Sunday. He added that the girl resisted help and began kicking the officers when they attempted to transport her to a local hospital.
The footage, which is from Friday and was released Sunday by the department, shows officers handcuffing the girl and putting her in the back of a police car as she resists and screams for her father.
“You’re acting like a child,” one of the officers can be heard saying.
“I am a child,” the nine-year-old responded.
“Just spray her at this point,” one officer said near the end of the video. (RELATED: Rochester Police Knelt On Back, Used Spit Hood Before Daniel Prude Went Unconscious And Later Died, Video Shows)
“He made a decision there that he thought was the best action to take. It resulted in no injury to her.”
— Rochester police union president Mike Mazzeo on the officer who pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl
???? by @WillCleveland13 https://t.co/pe0PHToBY0 pic.twitter.com/A6faayhPNb
— Democrat & Chronicle (@DandC) February 1, 2021
Additional details surrounding the investigation were not released by the department, and the names of officers involved were not immediately available. (RELATED: Shootings Follow Death of Daniel Prude In Rochester, New York)
“I’m not saying there are not better ways to do things,” Mike Mazzeo, the president of the city’s police union, told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “But let’s be realistic about what we’re facing. … It’s not TV, it’s not Hollywood. We don’t have a simple [situation], where we can put out our hands and have somebody instantly be handcuffed and comply.”
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