In Michigan, the Grand Rapids Police Department is under fire after video surfaced showing police officers detaining a group of 12-to-14-year-old unarmed African-American boys at gunpoint, forcing them to lie on the pavement as the boys sobbed and said they didn’t want to die.
Police Officer: “Get on the ground! Keep your hands out!”
Boy 1: “What did we do?”
Police Officer: “Hey! Come over here! Keep your hands where I can see them, and get on the ground!”
Boy 1: “But what did I do?
Police Officer: “Get on the ground!”
Boy 2: “Get down!”
Boys: “[crying] What did we do?”
Police Officer: “We’ll give you directions, OK?”
Boy 1: “I do not want to die!”
“I do not want to die”—the words of one of the African-American boys who were stopped at gunpoint by Grand Rapids police officers Friday, while the boys were returning from playing basketball.