A post shared on X, formerly Twitter, claims to show a boy being “booked” by Syracuse police for stealing chips.

Boy gets booked for stealing a bag of chips pic.twitter.com/Js4e9c490h

— Wild content (@NoCapFights) January 8, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

While the boy was placed in cuffs, he was not arrested or charged. He was released into the custody of his father.

Fact Check:

Social media users have been sharing a video of a black child being handled by police, claiming it shows a boy being “booked for stealing a bag of chips.”

This claim, however, is misleading. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the incident took place in April 2022. The boy, while cuffed, was not arrested and was released into the custody of his father, according to Syracuse.com. The Syracuse Police also addressed the incident on its Facebook page.

“We are aware of a video being shared on social media involving several of our Officers and juveniles accused of stealing from a store on the City’s northside. The incident, including the Officers’ actions and body-worn cameras, are being reviewed. There is some misinformation involving this case. The juvenile suspected of larceny was not placed in handcuffs. He was placed in the rear of a patrol unit where he was directly brought home. Officers met with the child’s father and no charges were filed,” the police said at the time.

A spokesperson for the Syracuse police denied that the boy had been taken to jail but did say that the boy was put in cuffs. (Did Pope Francis Say That Jesus Was Born During A Census Taken By King David?)

“We did not take the kid t[o] jail for this incident. He was placed in cuffs because of his unruly behavior and taken home to be released to an adult. If you look at our Facebook page and local media at the time we did a press conference on this,” the spokesperson said.

The boy’s family said they would file a lawsuit over the incident in August 2022, according to Syracuse.com. Check Your Fact could not verify if the lawsuit was ever filed.