On Monday afternoon, the last day of Spring Break for Broward County Public Schools, a group of about a dozen teenagers on bicycles had gathered in what appeared to be a residential neighborhood in Deerfield Beach when a BSO deputy rammed his gray, unmarked Chevrolet SUV into one of the boys, according to a nearly 40-second now-viral video posted on Instagram.
As the small boy limped away and tried to get back on his bike, the officer — wearing a BSO uniform and a ski mask — exited his patrol car, charged at the child, and wrestled him to the ground, the video shows.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!" the boy cried, according to the footage.
By then, several other marked BSO police cars, along with another unmarked car, had arrived with their lights flashing. The video, apparently filmed by one of the teen cyclists, ends shortly after.
BSO spokesperson Claudinne Caro tells New Times that deputies were monitoring a large crowd of kids on bikes who were allegedly doing "dangerous bicycle stunts, running red lights and blocking intersections" throughout Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach when they attempted to safely disperse the group.
While doing so, Caro says a deputy's unmarked vehicle "made contact" with a child's bicycle while "trying to maneuver around other cyclists." The child, she says, was brought to a local hospital following the incident and issued a juvenile civil citation, an alternative to arrest for minors who commit certain misdemeanors, upon release (it's unclear for what).
She says other kids involved were also detained and cited for various violations, including disobeying red lights and not wearing bike helmets.
"BSO detectives say the actions of the cyclists are part of an ongoing, organized pattern of reckless behavior by groups of juvenile bicyclists that encourages and rewards dangerous stunts and activities in traffic on busy South Florida roads," Caro wrote in a statement. "Detectives have received numerous complaints about the behavior that poses a danger to the juveniles, motorists and pedestrians."
Caro says the incident is currently under review by BSO's Use of Force Review Board. She did not respond to a question about the boys' ages.
The video was shared on Reddit in the r/interestingasfuck community, where criticism of BSO and the deputy was plentiful.
"The cop with his full ninja outfit to tackle a 12-year-old," one person wrote. "So brave!"
"Undercover? He was dressed like fucking GI Joe," another wrote.
"So, in other words, they were being dumb kids. And the response from a paramilitary law enforcement department is to run the kid over with a car, and jump on him while dressed like he is going to Iraq," a third commented. "These guys really need to calm the hell down."
