Two RCMP officers in Surrey, B.C., handcuffed a 16-year-old girl on the ground after mistaking her for someone else. In a video of her arrest, she can be heard screaming and swearing at the cops, telling them that they have the wrong person.
Surrey RCMP have admitted the screw-up, saying in a news release this week that they are investigating what happened.
“It is extremely unfortunate that this situation occurred and we are certainly mindful of her young age and how upsetting this was for her and her family,” said Superintendent Ed Boettcher, Operations Officer at Surrey RCMP.
The officers were looking for a high-risk mental health patient at the time, the RCMP says, and mistook the teenager for that person when they approached her at a bus station.
The incident took place on April 28, and the RCMP did not publicly address it until after the family filed a formal complaint and video of the arrest had gone viral on Facebook.
According to Ash Hotti, the bystander who recorded the arrest, the cops were very aggressive with the teenager.
In the video, the girl complains about being racially profiled because she’s black. “My name isn’t fucking Latoya! Who the fuck is Latoya?” she tells the officers.
