New Jersey cops drew their guns on a 10-year-old boy who became afraid and ran after they approached to interrogate him, mistaking the child for 20-year-old Casey Joseph Robinson, an armed-robbery suspect, because he “fit the description.”
Legend Preston was shooting some hoops and had gone after his basketball after it bounced into the street when cops came towards him, mistaking him for a robbery suspect.
“The man they were looking for was over six feet with long dreadlocks,” Patisha Preston, the boy’s mother, wrote in a Facebook post. “They yelled ‘he fits the description!'”
Casey Joseph Robinson, 20, was arrested by Newark Police after they initially mistook the a 10-year-old boy for the accused armed-robber.
It was a hot summer day on August 4 and Legend Preston was doing what many 10-year-olds do. He was playing outside, shooting some hoops, when his basketball bounced into the street.
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Legend Preston’s neighbors had to intervene when cops pulled their shotguns on him, mistook him for an armed robber, and detained him at gunpoint.(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:8606150711183207,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7736-8965"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.lockerdome.com/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
Legend chased after it.
As he was chasing after his ball, he noticed police darting towards him, armed with shotguns.
Thinking he was in trouble with the cops for scurrying into the street after his ball, he ran.
“I ran because they thought that I rolled the ball into the street on purpose, and they were just holding shotguns at me trying to shoot me,” Legend said, according to RawStory.
Newark cops drew their guns on the kid until bystanders intervened by forming a “human shied” around the young boy and lining the cops out about detaining the child at gunpoint.
The cops then released Legend to his neighbors. Neighbors assisted him to his mother’s home where she had been during the ordeal.
“He’s only 10 years old. How you all chasing him? He’s only a kid,” explained Legend’s neighbor Jackie Kelly. “I’m like, that’s messed up.”
Despite the contrary being confirmed by several witnesses, Newark police claim their cops never pointed shotguns at Legend or any children in the area.
Legend’s mother says her young son is now scarred for life.
“He’s scared when his father leaves for work or he goes to play outside. He says, ‘They tried to kill me mommy.’ As a child, this will stay with him forever,” said Paticia Preston.
Eventually, Newark police arrested Casey Joseph Robinson in connection with the armed robbery.
The post New Jersey Cops Hold 10-year-old Boy at Gunpoint, for “matching a description” of 20-year-old armed robber appeared first on PINAC News.