Jahmel Leach Bronx 16 year old teen beaten & tased by NYPD cops who accuse him of participating in looting. Boy’s family now demands answers and accountability.
At what point can police ever justify brutalizing a teenage boy?
A 16-year-old Bronx boy has been left bruised and battered after allegedly being beaten and tased no less than three times by an NYPD officer during recent rioting and looting amid George Floyd demonstrations in NYC.
The family of Jahmel Leach have since shared photos of the teenager’s bloodied face following the alleged police brutality incident in the Bronx on June 1.
They say Jahmel had been on the sidelines of a protest that had spiraled out of control on Fordham Road, where businesses were being targeted by looters and fires were being ignited on the street.
The teenager was tased in the head, leg and shoulder and allegedly struck by an officer before being taken to St Barnabas Hospital and later into custody, without the knowledge of his parents despite him being a minor.
His family only learned of what happened when they received a phone call from the hospital that night, the nydailynews reports.
‘He [the officer] beat him. He exploited him. And he handed him over to the mother in an exploitative manner,’ Jahmel’s cousin Yamil Miller said.
‘If she was responsible for the way her son looked, she would be in jail. If she was responsible for the way her son was handled, she would be in jail,’ Miller, said of the boy’s mother, Daisy Acevedo.
But it gets worse.
Miller said the boy was held ‘against his will and legal right’ as a minor and was thrown in a jail cell with adults.
Of note, police are mandated to notify a suspect’s family when a minor is arrested. Family only found out about the teen’s injuries and arrest only after the hospital called the boy’s mother.
A statement released by the family also alleges the officer told his mother: ‘I’m sorry he is so tall I thought he was an adult when I took him down.’ Jahmel is 6’1.
The mom of a Bronx teen whose face was left a bloody pulp after an encounter with the NYPD demands justice.
Jahmel Leach’s cousin said the 16-year-old was tased 3x and the mother took photos at the hospital before cops rushed her out and locked the door.https://t.co/n6eR2Hjgb2
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) June 11, 2020
Family accuse NYPD of violating Jahmel’s civil rights
Cops claim the boy was allegedly trying to set fire to trash on the street and had been seen running out of a T-Mobile store that was ransacked by looters before he was tased.
The teen was charged with fifth-degree arson. Jahmel’s family maintains Jahmel was not involved in any of the looting and had only been a spectator.
‘He was shot with a taser three times to the head, leg and shoulder. He is also in danger of losing all his teeth,’ the family said in a statement.
‘Jahmel and his family are traumatized by this encounter’.
They are now demanding actions saying authorities violated his civil rights by questioning a child ‘without a parent, legal guardian, or attorney.’
The teenager told The Grio on Wednesday he was not participating in the riots because he is, ‘scared of crowds.’
‘We’re going to get them answers.’
‘I was outside during the protest walking home,’ he said.
‘I was approached by several police officers, who unexpectedly slammed (me) to the ground and tased me to the left temple.
‘I don’t remember how I received all the injuries to my face and body. I woke up in a police car being taken to the precinct. I was in a cell coughing up blood.’
Come Wednesday night, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted he’d ‘spoken to Jahmel’s family and I’m really troubled by what they told me. We’re going to get them answers.’
He also said the NYPD ‘has launched an investigation into what happened.’
A Go Fund Me campaign has been launched by the family to raise money for Jahmel’s recovery.
Miller said Jahmel has been ‘relocated’ and they have hired attorney Mark David Shirian to represent them in their case.
‘My family is outraged and want this to be exposed as many minors are violated at the hands of the NYPD. The WHITE officer violated this young black minor. We are mad.‘
