Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Florida Mom Outraged After Police Detain Her 12-Year-Old Son For 'Riding His Own Bicycle'

Florida Mom Outraged After Police Detain Her 12-Year-Old Son For 'Riding His Own Bicycle'
@WESH 2 News/YouTube

Police in Apopka, Florida wrongfully detained a Black 12-year-old boy for allegedly stealing a bicycle and his mother is furious.

The recorded footage showed police pulling the child away from a large crowd, his hands in handcuffs by the time he reached the patrol car.


The boy's arrest was captured on video by a bystander and shared by NBC affiliate WESH 2 News.

youtu.be

The bystander recording the video called out to the police from behind her phone.

"He's scared! He's scared, he's scared, that little boy's scared."

The boy, later identified as Jamir Bradford, was identified as a member of a group who stole a bicycle.

However, after checking the serial numbers on the bicycle Bradford was riding, it was eventually confirmed the bicycle belonged to Bradford, and was not the stolen bicycle.

Bradford was later released back to his mother, Melani Brown, but Brown revealed in a press conference her son was "emotionally scarred" by the ordeal.

"He was arrested, handcuffed and charged with robbery and battery for riding his own bicycle."
"He said ‘Mommy, when I seen the officer with his hand on his gun, I wanted to run."
"I said, ‘For what? You did nothing wrong'."

Brown believes there are still outstanding charges pending against her son.

But civil rights activist John Barnett told WESH 2 News he and a local lawyer couldn't find any charges after checking with juvenile court.

"How do charges just disappear?"

Brown complained to the police about how the situation with her son was handled, and is not ready to stop fighting to ensure such an incident never happens again.

"I wasn’t prepared on Feb. 20, but I am today."
"I’m prepared to fight for justice for my son."

Several viewers of WESH 2 News' report on YouTube expressed their support for Brown, agreeing police officers need to be better trained for instances with children.

"Love how it takes a gaggle of armed adults to deal with a child."- Radar O

T"he Popo’s messed up big time in this one. They detained a child before verifying anything… Anyway you look at it it’s Bad policing."-John John

"WTF is wrong with the officers!"- KAE4860

"12 wow treated like an adult this is America truly traumatizing for that young baby."- Jameek Haynie.

"Those cop's are lucky it wasn't my son the cop's don't have any respect for others people kids there is no excuse for how they handle this."- Adam Ocanas.

Other viewers felt this was an example of racial bias, demanding the officers responsible be held accountable.

"So if you are Black you are guilty until proven innocent. And it takes a team of police officers to hold that trial, who at their discretion, can kill you for “not cooperating”. To serve and protect who?"- Gabe Maldonado

"They don’t treat our kids like kids they see a criminal no matter the age."- Bud Defreitas

"Sometimes when u c these kinds of injustices, ya just wanna open up on 'em... But all we can do is beg 4 POLICE REFORM NOW!!!"- Rutheone

"I Hope these racist Cops GET Fired!!!!."- Vir Dom

"This was too much. I am White and I agree that this went too far. The cops need to go through some kind of training for these situations."- GodBless America 76

It is illegal in the state of Florida to arrest a child under six-years-old. However, several Florida lawmakers, including SenatorRandolph Bracy, are fighting to increase the age to 12 and under.

While a police report at the time of the incident showed an officer removed the handcuffs from Bradford after roughly one minute, the Apopka police have otherwise declined to comment on the incident, saying it has been placed under "administrative review."

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Fox News Just Listed Off Trump's 'Accomplishments' So Far—And They're Completely Bananas

As shown during coverage of a cabinet meeting when members spent time telling the President how great he is, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's biggest priority is Donald Trump's image and ego.

Also caught on video was Trump telling a Fox News correspondent to make sure the network praised his cabinet meeting.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Donald Trump and Terry Moran
ABC News

Trump Bizarrely Clashes With Reporter Over Photoshopped 'Tattoo' On Abrego Garcia's Knuckles

President Donald Trump sparked criticism after claiming during an interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran that an edited photo depicting tattoos of wrongly-deported Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia showed that he has an alleged connection to the MS-13 gang.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who arrived in the U.S. in 2012, was labeled a threat in 2019 due to an alleged connection to MS-13. He spent months in detention before an immigration judge found he had a credible fear of persecution—not from MS-13, but from a rival group, Barrio 18, which he said had been extorting his family.

Keep Reading Show less
Karoline Leavitt; Jeff Bezos
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Leavitt Lashes Out At Amazon Over 'Hostile' Plan To Display Added Tariff Costs For Products On Website

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at Amazon over news that the commerce giant planned to display increased "import charges" on items on their Amazon Haul website, essentially showing to customers the extra money they'd have to shell out as a result of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Trump has escalated a growing trade war by imposing tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports, prompting China to retaliate with its own 125% tariffs on American goods. Additionally, the U.S. has slapped a 10% tax on imports from most other countries, while temporarily suspending higher rates for several nations for 90 days.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Canadian voter
CNN

Canadian Voter's Epic Take On Trump In Viral Interview Clip Has The Internet Cheering

A Canadian woman has gone viral following her NSFW interview with CNN in which she explained that her decision of whom to support for prime minister In Monday's election was based primarily on who could "take care of" President Donald Trump, who had threatened Canadian sovereignty amid an ongoing trade war.

In the end, Canadian voters returned the Liberal Party to power for a fourth consecutive term, although Prime Minister Mark Carney will lead a minority government, according to projections from CNN’s broadcast partner CBC.

Keep Reading Show less
man and woman with cardboard boxes on their heads with faces drawn on them
julio andres rosario ortiz on Unsplash

People Describe The Most Unhinged Things They've Seen Someone Do In Public

One person's "most unhinged thing they've ever seen" is another person's everyday occurrence. It's all about perspective.

If you live 24/7 in an insane environment, unhinged starts to seem completely normal.

Keep Reading Show less