Videos circulating online show CMPD arresting child over ‘reckless’ bike-riding
Videos circulating on TikTok show Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arresting a boy riding a bicycle.
Police said they needed to interrupt the boy’s bike ride and handcuff him for his safety.
A report wasn’t available Thursday morning, but the department said in a statement that police “acted to ensure the safety of the individual seen in the video, based on the circumstances at the time.”
“The department’s Central Division regularly responds to reports of individuals riding bicycles in a manner that poses a danger to themselves or others on city roadways,” the statement said, adding that police were still investigating.
One video shows the boy handcuffed and sitting on a sidewalk in South End while an officer takes notes. In another, he is in the back of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department patrol car. An officer in one of the videos describes to the person recording how people will recklessly “ride into traffic, hitting cars.”
“Reckless driving,” someone answers when asked what crime the child committed, adding that he did not have to hit a car to be charged with that.
The Charlotte Observer could not reach the child’s family on Thursday morning. The person who recorded the videos also did not respond to a message.
This is a developing story.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.