CINCINNATI — One day after a video posted to Facebook showed Cincinnati police officers arresting two teens, the department released body camera video from the scene on Reading Road.
Leslie Martin posted a video Monday afternoon showing officers attempting to arrest a teen at the intersection of Reading Road and Seymour Avenue. Witnesses can be heard in the background yelling, "He was only selling water."
The next day, a CPD spokesperson said officers were dispatched to the intersection at around 1:15 p.m. Monday after a caller told dispatchers a large group of teens who were selling water were running into the street.
"When our officers arrived on scene, they witnessed several teens in the street, and one throw a water bottle into traffic," the statement says.
In body camera footage released Tuesday, one officer can be heard telling the teens they can sell water, but they cannot be in the street.
"If y'all want to sell water bottles that's fine, stay out of the streets, though," the officer said.
One teen is heard asking the officer how they can sell the water if they cannot walk onto the street.
"I'm telling you right now, they're calling us. I don't want to do something about it, right?" the officer said.
Another teen appears to say, "do what you need to do" and "if you've gotta write a ticket, you've gotta write a ticket" before the officer gets out of the car.
The officer and teen who said to write a ticket continue to argue before the officer turns to another officer in the cruiser and says, "Do you want to deal with it?"
Video shows the officer walking up to one teen, who police later said was 14, and telling him to put his hands behind his back.
"I'm not in the road," the teen says continuously as the officer tries to detain him.
"Stop resisting, you're going to get tased, stop resisting," the officer says.
Video from another officer's body-worn camera shows two other teens trying to grab the 14-year-old's fanny pack. One officer tries to place one of the teens, aged 15, into custody. The 15-year-old backs away from him, telling him, "don't touch me."
"Why are you touching me? Get off me," the teen says.
During the video, the teen refuses to put his hands behind his back, asking repeatedly, "Why are you detaining me for?"
The 15-year-old is detained minutes later, and the officer can be heard saying, "Just chill out man, relax. We've been telling you this whole time to relax and you wouldn't."
When one teen tells officers the fanny pack is theirs, video shows an officer opening it and finding a BB gun. Officers then put that teen in handcuffs as they scream, "It's a BB gun."
"Stupid," the officer says to the teen. "Who rolls around with that? How old are you? Why would you roll around with that?"
CPD said the officer was able to examine it and confirm it was a BB gun that is an exact replica of a Glock 19.
Police said both the 14- and 15-year-old were arrested for resisting arrest and obstructing official business.
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