Shotgun-Toting Cops Chase 10-Year-Old Boy Through Streets of Newark, Thinking He Was a Robbery Suspect

A 10-year-old child was chased by police—who admit to having their guns drawn—after they mistook him for a robbery suspect. Unlike numerous other cases in which African-American teens were gunned down by police officers who assumed their guilt, the intervention of neighbors ensured this case ended with the boy's safety.

Fifth-grader Legend Preston told WABC-TV he was playing basketball in his front yard when the ball rolled into the street. When he ran to retrieve it, the preteen was confronted by officers with their weapons drawn who began to pursue him. Legend thought the cops were upset with him for not practicing the right street safety.

“I ran because [I thought that] they thought that I rolled the ball into the street on purpose, and they were just holding shotguns at me trying to shoot me,” he told the station....
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/shotgun-toting-cops-chase-10-year-old-boy-through-streets-newark-thinking-he-was