Video Appears To Show Cops Punch, Tase Teen In Arrest

A video appears to show two Florida police officers punching and using a Taser on a teen after trying to remove him from an apartment complex.

The incident occurred Monday when Lakeland officers were called to the pool at the Caroline Apartments after a caller reported that non-residents were using the pool, according to Fox 8. The manager reportedly told police to cite anyone who didn’t live there for trespassing, the outlet noted, citing an arrest report.

A 16-year-old boy, who police later identified as Jahmal Hudson, reportedly refused to provide police with his apartment number or his information and was told at the scene he was trespassing, the Tampa Free Press reported.

Hudson was asked to leave the complex again after he left the pool to gather his belongings, at which point he allegedly put his hand in the officer’s face, Fox8 reported, noting that this initial altercation was not captured on video. Officers said the 16-year-old “tensed his body” and tried to pull away once an officer grabbed his arm, according to the outlet.

In the video, one officer appears to be grabbing Hudson’s arm while the other has a grip on his hair. The officer holding his arm then appears to strike Hudson in the head repeatedly. The teen hits back, and moments later the second officer begins punching him.

The second officer appears to hit Hudson directly in the face. The other officer then draws his Taser and fires it at the 16-year-old, who falls to the ground. The officer proceeds to place his knee on Hudson’s neck and force Hudson’s arm behind his back while the other officer aims a Taser at the boy.

Hudson was reportedly taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a Juvenile Assessment Center, Fox8 reported. (RELATED: Wild Video Shows Police Officers Unloading Punches On Inmate During Texas Prison Brawl).

“I couldn’t stomach the fact that two LPD officers literally battered my son,” Hudson’s mother, Jatae Lewis, told WFLA News.

“It shouldn’t have led to this,” Lewis told WFLA News. “If these are kids, and these are two adults literally jumping my son.”

The arrest report allegedly notes that the officers involved used “several closed fist strikes” against Hudson, according to Fox8. The officer who wrote the report said he was hit in the face once during the altercation.

“Chief [Sammy] Taylor has been informed of the incident … and has already requested an administrative review by our Office of Professional Standards,” the Lakeland Police Department said in a statement to WFLA News.

Hudson faces charges of resisting an officer with violence, failure to leave property, trespass and battery on a law enforcement officer, FOX 8 reported.

The Lakeland Police Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

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