Montgomery County, MD — As the Free Thought Project reported, utterly infuriating, sickening, and disturbing footage was released showing the nature of the expanding police state into schools. In the video, a five-year-old boy is detained, abused, handcuffed, and taunted by two Montgomery County police officers who have zero business possessing a badge and a gun. Now, three months later and lawmakers are finally making moves to hold cops more accountable in an effort to prevent future scenarios.
The incident took place last year but the footage from the officers’ body cameras was just released in March as part of a lawsuit brought on by the boy’s parents. For over a year the public had no idea cops were treating children like this.
“We didn’t find out about this until 14 months after the fact,” Montgomery County Council President Tom Hucker said. “So of course we have to wonder, how often this may have happened in the past, and whether it will happen again in the in the future and we wouldn’t find out.”
In the video, police officers detain the boy because he allegedly acted out in school and then walked off campus. What should have been a calm conversation and chat about the boy’s poor decisions, morphed into a bully match in which the two cops appeared to want to outdo each other on the level of abuse they could dish out.
Hucker’s bill has several parts which seek to prevent future abuses. As WUSA 9 reports:
The bill would require the Montgomery County Police Department’s internal affairs division to notify the Police Chief immediately about any investigations involving children, discrimination, use of force, and other serious matters immediately.
The proposed bill would then require the chief to notify the County Executive and County Council within 24 hours. Another requirement of the drafted bill is the Police Chief would be required to inform the State’s Attorney’s Office within seven days of becoming aware of a potential criminal offense by a Department employee. The police department would also be required to provide certain investigative files and body-worn camera recordings to the County Executive and County Council within seven days if it’s requested.
Read More: Police Accountability Bill Proposed After Cops Cuff, Berate & Abuse 5yo Boy at School
