Things got ugly last week when bystanders video recording police officers in Roslindale got in a shouting match with the officer. In the video, posted on Youtube, one teen is seen being handcuffed then begins yelling f— the police. As an officer attempts to force the youth in the car, the officer is seen placing his hands around the teen’s neck in what appears to be a choke.
Things got uglier Tuesday morning after Boston Mayor Martin Walsh told reporters that the officer in the video was not actually choking the teen.
“I saw the video and certainly he was trying to get the young man into the car, there was no choking there,” Walsh said in an exchange with reporters, as quoted in the Boston Herald.
Walsh’s statement set off a raft of sarcasm on social media.
“I guess investigation closed then,” wrote defense attorney Stephanie Soriano Mills in a post on her Facebook page. “There must be some policy I haven’t heard of that allows for hands around the neck of a suspect. Smh”
“The cop just put his hands around the neck of the teenager and applied force. Why would anyone call that choking?” wrote ACLU attorney Carlton Williams.
Williams, noted that the mayor’s comments come after the Boston Police Department promised to look into the incident.
“This is worrisome because I thought that there was going to be a full, fair, and impartial investigation by the Boston Police Department and no rush to any judgment,” he said.
