ATHENS, GA (WSB/CNN) – Police in Athens, GA, are defending two officers who restrained a 9-year-old boy after he became upset and leaped at an officer when his father was arrested in a domestic violence incident.
Police spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez explained the circumstances behind the incident Monday afternoon after a video of officers restraining 9-year-old Eric Collins went viral on social media.
Officers were responding to a domestic violence call Friday evening, during which the boy’s father and only legal guardian, according to family members, was arrested.
As seen in body camera video, Eric is clearly upset about his father’s arrest.
Police say while an officer walked the suspect to his patrol car, the 9-year-old attempted to block his path and had to be removed and restrained by adult family members.
However, the child ran past his family members and lunged at one of the officers, Rodriguez said, while his father was being placed in the patrol car. The officer caught him in midair, and they fell against the vehicle.
According to a police statement, because Eric continued with the outburst, the officer placed him on the ground.
The video shows that both officers held the boy down at one point and had a pair of handcuffs out. However, they never used the cuffs.
The officer can be heard in the video telling Eric he was not under arrest and that he would let him up if he remained calm.
Eric was allowed to get up when the officer felt he had sufficiently calmed down, police said. The officer then consoled the boy, and he was allowed to speak to his dad.
Even so, the 9-year-old’s family doesn’t agree with the way police handled the situation. Eric ended up at the emergency room to treat scrapes and bruises.
"If you can’t control a 9-year-old, you don't deserve no badge – period,” said Ariel Collins, the boy’s cousin, who posted her own video on Facebook Sunday.
Eric’s grandfather, Harry Jones, believes the officers should face disciplinary action.
"Don't fire them but suspend them at least 30 days to give them something to think about,” he said.
Police say the officers’ actions are under review. They are currently still on duty.
"We fully believe after watching the body cam footage and from the paperwork that we have that they will understand that there are two sides to this story and that the officers had what they had in front of them and had to deal with what they had directly in front of them,” Rodriguez said.
Copyright 2018 WSB, Ariel Collins/Facebook, Athens-Clarke County Police via CNN. All rights reserved.
