The Grand Rapids Police Department is dealing with another potential public relations crisis after police handcuffed 11-year old twins and their 17-year-old friend at gunpoint. All three youths are black, and the twin’s mother, Juanita Ligon says, the boys were racially profiled.
Grand Rapids Police are offering a different take on what happened. They say the police officers were responding to a report of juveniles with a handgun.
Grand Rapids police Chief David Rahinsky said officers followed department policy on interacting with youth and that "when the allegation is someone has a firearm, the response has to be appropriate."
A police search of the three youths did not produce a gun, and the boys were released without charges.
The incident however is the latest in a series of incidents that the GRPD has had to defend. Last year, Grand Rapids Police faced public outcry after police officers ordered five African-American boys under the age of 13 to the ground at gunpoint as one boy cried uncontrollably, later that year, the GRPD would once again face scrutiny after officers handcuffed an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint while she sobbed.
Last December, Chief Rahinsky said that the GRPD “has a problem” and that watching footage of the police officers handcuff the 11-year old girl made him “physically nauseous.”
In regards to the 11-year old twins being handcuffed, the GRPD says they are investigating and released this statement “The Grand Rapids Police Department remains committed to maintaining open lines of communication with the community, focusing on our training and decision-making, and taking the necessary steps to strengthen the trust of every community member.”
