D.C.’s Attorney General, Karl Racine, will survey police departments nationwide for ‘best practices’ when it comes to interacting with children, according to a statement Racine released on Wednesday.
What We Know:
- Racine calls for this survey to happen after video surfaced of police handcuffing a 9-year-old boy for leaning on a car.
- Once the survey determines best practices, they’ll be compared to D.C. police’s current policies, and the Office of the Attorney General will make recommendations, if needed.
- This is not the first time an incident with minors being handcuffed unjustly has occurred in DC. In an unrelated case this past March, a 10-year-old boy was handcuffed as an alleged suspect in a robbery. He was later proven to be innocent.
- Racine released a statement following the incident where he stated the police ‘acted in accordance with MPD policies and procedures’, he then asked the media to help protect the child’s privacy.
- The video is only a microcosm of other incidents dealing with police and young black boys in the D.C. area, according to the DCist.
We’re hopeful that this survey will bring about significant change in policing.
