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Justified? Rancho Cordova cop repeatedly punches 14 year old black boy during arrest

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Elijah Tufono and Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer
Pictured, Elijah Tufono and Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer who was filmed repeatedly punching 14 year old teen boy
Elijah Tufono and Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer
Pictured, Elijah Tufono and Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer who was filmed repeatedly punching 14 year old teen boy

Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer repeatedly punches 14 year old black teen, Elijah Tufono during arrest caught on video. Excessive use of force? 

At what point does police use of force cease to be justified?

A viral video of a California police officer repeatedly punching a 14-year-old boy while trying to subdue the teen as he resisted arrest has sparked outrage and has since led to an investigation by law enforcement.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says it has launched a use-of-force probe into the Monday incident involving a Rancho Cordova cop identified in reports as Officer Brian Fowell.

A 15-second video of the encounter posted to social media (see below) shows the officer struggling to subdue the teen — identified as 14-year-old Elijah Tufono — first grabbing his right arm while kneeling beside the boy, then pushing Tufono’s face into the ground as the youth says, ‘Don’t do this, bro!’

The officer proceeds to punch Tufono at least three times as the teen and a witness who caught the exchange on video pleaded for him to stop, video shows.

Police violence on black suspects:

A statement Tuesday from the sheriff’s office said Fowell saw what he believed to be a ‘hand-to-hand exchange’ between an adult and the teen following reports of ‘sales of alcohol, tobacco and drugs to minors’ in the area.

‘When the deputy approached the juvenile, the juvenile was uncooperative and refused to give the deputy basic identifying information,’ sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Tess Deterding said in the statement. ‘He told the deputy he was 18 years old.’

‘Having reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was occurring, the deputy attempted to detain the juvenile so he could conduct further investigation,’ she continued.

‘The juvenile became physically resistive at that time, causing the deputy to lose control of his handcuffs, which landed several feet away. The deputy attempted to maintain control of the juvenile without his handcuffs and while alone waiting for his partners to arrive and assist him.’ 

The officer ultimately found Tufono in possession of tobacco products, which is ‘presumably the reason for his resistance,’ Deterding said. The boy was cited and released, police said.

‘This type of situation is hard on everyone — the young man, who resisted arrest, and the officer, who would much rather have him cooperate,’ Deterding said.

Which is to wonder would Officer Brian Fowell have been more conciliatory towards his child suspect had the boy been white as opposed to black and to what degree was the police officer’s use of force informed by the suspect’s race? And can one legitimately argue that police typically exert more force, even deadly force against suspects of color in the application of law? 

Elijah Tufono Sacramento teen
Pictured, Elijah Tufono Sacramento teen.

Was one cop just doing his job? Social media responds: 

While an investigation into the incident is in its early stages, Tufono admitted he wasn’t truthful with the cop, according to an interview he did with KTXL.

‘I did lie to him and I didn’t cooperate, and I know that and I made that mistake,’ Tufono told KTXK. ‘But that didn’t give him no right to do what he did.’

Tufono, who claimed Fowell tried to handcuff him without telling him why, said the officer got ‘aggressive’ when he pulled his right hand back.

‘I mean, I do forgive him,’ Tufono said. ‘I have nothing against the cop. He was just doing his job, I guess.’

And then there were these responses on twitter that caught this author’s attention. See what you think?

Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer
Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer punches 14 year old black teen, Elijah Tufono
Cordova police officer punches 14 year old black teen,
Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer punches 14 year old black teen, Elijah Tufono
Rancho Cordova police officer punches 14 year old black teen
Brian Fowell Rancho Cordova police officer punches 14 year old black teen, Elijah Tufono
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