Two photographic videos of the incident, released by the police department on Sunday, show police officers arresting the child, putting him in handcuffs and trying to put him inside the back of a police vehicle as he is heard repeatedly crying and calling for his father.
Police officers are seen spraying pepper on the girl after she does not follow commands to put her feet in the car.
The girl was transported to Rochester General Hospital, where she was later released, Anderson said.
Rochester’s mayor, Lovely Warren, said at a news conference on Sunday that she had spoken to the girl’s mother and that the city’s Person in Crisis mental health team would be contacting the family.
“It is clear from the video that we need to do more to support our children and families,” said Warren
During the press conference, Rochester police chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan said what happened was not acceptable.
“I’m not going to stay here and say that for a 9-year-old to have to be sprayed with pepper it’s okay. It’s not,” said Herriott-Sullivan. “I don’t see it as who we are as a department and we are going to do the work that we have to do to ensure that this type of thing does not happen.”
Police say they were responding to a ‘family problems’ report
The officers were called to a home on the afternoon of January 29 for a “family problems” report, Anderson said on Sunday.
The police were told that the girl was “suicidal” and that she “indicated that she wanted to kill herself and wanted to kill her mother,” explained the deputy.
The girl tried to escape from the police, said Anderson, and a video released by the police shows a policeman chasing her and trying to help.
Then, he said, her mother arrived and the video from the body’s camera shows them arguing.
Anderson said the police then decided to take the child out of the situation and transport him to a local hospital.
But the girl refused to get into a police vehicle, “struggled” and kicked a police officer, dropping her body camera, according to Anderson.
“It didn’t look like she was resisting the cops, she was trying not to be contained to go to the hospital,” said Anderson. “While the police were making several attempts to get him into the car, a police officer sprayed the child with OC spray to get him into the car.”
The video from the body’s camera shows the girl screaming repeatedly for her father, while being physically restrained by police officers. She is seen screaming before her head is pressed against the snow-covered ground and handcuffed. A fight begins between the girl and the police as they try to put her inside the back of a police vehicle.
At one point, a policeman said, “You are acting like a child,” to which the girl can be heard answering, “I am a child!”
Later in the video, a female police officer is seen talking to the girl, finally saying, “This is your last chance, otherwise the pepper spray will get in your eyes”. About a minute later, another police officer can be heard saying, “Just spray it right now.” The police officer is seen shaking a can that looks like pepper spray and the child continues to scream.
The officers involved in the incident were not identified by the police, nor was the child or mother.
Anderson said on Sunday that “he was not making excuses for what happened” and that the department is “looking for a culture change”. The department is in the process of reviewing several policies and looking to make changes, according to Anderson.
Mayor Warren said she instructed the police chief to conduct a thorough and thorough investigation of the incident and said she welcomes the review of what happened by the city’s police accountability committee.
The mayor explained that the video reminded her of her daughter.
“I have a 10 year old daughter. So she is a child; she is a baby. And I can tell you that this video, as a mother, is nothing you want to see. It isn’t, ”said Warren. “We have to understand compassion, empathy. When you have a child who is suffering like that and calling out for the father, I saw my baby’s face in your face.”