8-Year-Old Kid Cries As Cops Put Him In Police Car For Stealing Bag Of Chips

Footage of an eight-year-old boy being forced into a police car by cops in Syracuse, New York, has shocked social media. 

A video shot by bystander Kenneth Jackson shows the young boy screaming and sobbing as Syracuse Police officers put him in the back of their car because he allegedly stole a bag of Doritos from a nearby convenience store.

The clip garnered so much attention that Syracuse Police were forced to release bodycam footage captured during the incident on Thursday, which they claimed showed ‘a more well-rounded story with a positive outcome’.

The initial video was called ‘horrifying’ on social media and shows officers holding the boy's arms before loading him into the back of a police car despite his hysterical protests. 

Jackson can be heard asking law enforcement: “What is y’all doing?” to which one of the cops replied: “Guess. Take a guess what I’m doing.”

Jackson then said: “He looks like a baby to me. I don’t know what you’re doing. So what’s going on, then?”

After being told the child had been caught stealing, Jackson told them: “Nah, man, so he’s stealing a bag of chips, you’re treating him like an old cold killer?”

He even offered: “If he stole some chips, I’ll pay for them! I’ll pay for them! Leave him alone! He’s a kid!” 

Newly-released bodycam footage revealed that there were in fact three children involved and officers drove the boy home where they spoke to his father. 

Upon Thursday’s release of bodycam footage, First Deputy Chief Joe Cecile said: “Some of that video is hard to watch. It's visceral to all of us."

Emphasising the fact that the officers spent time talking to the boy’s father about the importance of him staying out of trouble, Cecile hailed their actions as an example of ‘community policing 101’.

USA Today notes that Syracuse Police and Mayor Ben Walsh have confirmed the footage is being investigated, as are the actions of the officers involved.

Walsh said: “We need to resist blaming – whether it's the family, the officers – we need to focus on learning from this.”

According to the New York Post, the boy’s father, Anthony Weah, said he was shocked when he saw the footage after police came to his home and wants to file a complaint.

“Why would the police treat that child like that? Over a $3 bag of chips,” Weah reportedly said.

UNILAD has approached the Syracuse Police Department for comment.

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