JACKSONVILLE, FL (WJXT/CNN) – A Florida mom said an overzealous police officer trying to teach her son a lesson put the 11-year-old in handcuffs.
She said it was because the boy wouldn't stop bouncing a basketball.
Bunmi Borisade, the boy's mother, said she understands her son may have been acting out, but said he didn't deserve to be handcuffed.
The incident happened on Aug. 4 after a Police Athletic League basketball game at a JaxPAL gym in Jacksonville, FL, where Borisade said a police officer repeatedly ordered her son, 11-year-old Fatayi Jomoh, to stop bouncing a ball.
JaxPAL is the city's Police Athletic League, which also sponsors a youth basketball league.
Borisade, who was in another part of the gym at the time, said the officer handcuffed Fatayi after he didn't stop bouncing the ball.
"A little girl came up to me and said, 'Hey, excuse me. Your son is being arrested for dribbling a basketball.' I said, 'You can’t be serious,'" Borisade said.
Fatayi, an honor roll student, was not arrested, but he now knows what it feels like to be in handcuffs.
"The officer who handcuffed my son looked at me and said, 'He was being disrespectful.' I said, 'Well, why didn't you come and tell me? I'm his mom,'" she said.
Borisade said in an Internal Affairs complaint that she believes the officer acted forcefully because her son was not at her side.
She said the situation has made Fatayi afraid of police, which is the opposite of JaxPAL's mission statement, which is to create "positive relationships between law enforcement officers and the youth of our community through educational, athletic and leadership programs."
Borisade said the incident has also changed her views on the police.
"Yes, it's ruined mine as well. I'm not going to lie and put on a show for the news," Borisade said.
When reached for comment, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the Internal Affairs complaint is being reviewed.
In the meantime, Fatayi said he wishes the officer would have given him a second chance.
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