In Rochester, New York, disturbing new video has been released of the moments after police handcuffed and pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old Black girl last month.
9-Year-Old Girl: “Officers, please, don’t do this to me!”
Police Officer: “You did it to yourself, Hon.”
9-Year-Old Girl: “Pepper spray is burning my eyes!”
Police Officer: “Yep. That’s the point of pepper spray. The ambulance is on their way, and they will clear your eyes out.”
9-Year-Old Girl: “The pepper spray is burning my eyes!”
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports it took about 15 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, and the girl was left handcuffed for 23 minutes. The officers involved were suspended pending an investigation. One of the things the little girl said to the officers when they said, “You’re acting like a child,” was, “I am a child.”