WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Community groups are reacting to a cell phone video that has spread across social media.
The video, shot by a neighbor on Hartford Street on Nov. 8, shows a Winston-Salem police officer detaining five teenagers. In one part of the video, the officer appeared to slam one girl to the ground.
That action by the officer has led the Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem to step up in support of the girl and her family. The ministers are calling for transparency.
WSPD is investigating the incident but community leaders are questioning the officer's use of force and his motives.
"Not only was the first amendment rights violated officer Jones violated the citizen, his yard he was in, by telling her to get back or he will put her in handcuffs," said Bishop Todd Fulton of the Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem & Vicinity.
"The fight is not for black-and-white, the fight is for humanity, the fight is for love, peace and just to give my baby the right to grow up in the United States of America that you say that we are free in," said Earnest Sides Jr., the father of the 15-year-old girl.
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Sides of Winston-Salem became overwhelmed by emotion when he talked about how the police officer treated his daughter.
The police department said officer Zacharie Jones was investigating a home break-in when he stopped the five teens who were walking on Hartford Street.
The cell phone video shot by a neighbor caught parts of the ordeal.
"I've played the clip by clip and try to understand the officer's actions as well as my child's actions and I just don't see that it was necessary," Sides said.
Mayor Pro-tem DD Adams didn't mince words and called the incident a display of racism and alleged the teens were profiled.
"If this had been in Buena Vista, if this has been a group of teenagers walking down Stratford Road, would this have happened this way," DD Adams said.
The Ministers' conference said the officer's actions were troubling and unprofessional.
"It was a bully and a very aggressive approach that we saw from Officer Jones which our tax dollars are funding," Fulton said.
"That officer was the adult in the situation and what I would say to any adult is that you be the adult in the situation and let the child be the child," he said.
"We want to see that training adhered to and training is only as good as the individual that is willing to adhere to it and implement in the streets," Dr. Keith Vereen of MCWS&V said.
Police Chief Catrina Thompson announced the launch of the internal investigation on Sunday.
Thompson said she reacted with "sadness" when she first watched the video of the interaction between the officer and the teenagers.
"As your chief of police and as the mother of two teenage African American children, I share your concerns," Thompson said.
"Because it looks ugly as most use-of-force incidents do, it doesn't mean the officer's actions are illegal or in violation of department policy," she said.
Chief Thompson has asked for the community's patience and put Jones on desk duty as the investigation continues.
The Sides family has retained a lawyer and said they plan to pursue legal action.
