A Michigan mother is demanding an investigation after she says her son was racially profiled by a police officer. Marticia Spearman told Atlanta Black Star that her son Jeremiah, 16, was unjustly treated and then detained by Battle Creek police on June 14. The police department released body-c amera footage of what happened. Jeremiah Spearman (right) was detained after officers said they believed he was engaged in “suspicious” activity as he walked down a sidewalk. (Photos: YouTube screenshots/ News 3) In the video, a police officer pulls over on the side of the road and starts yelling at a teenager, identified as Jeremiah Spearman. “Come here. You’re not in trouble. What’s going on?” the officer yelled. Jeremiah, seemingly ignoring the officer, continues walking down the sidewalk until the officer stops him. ‘Kind of Stuff You See on TV’: Two People Accused of Dismembering Black Man, Dumping Body Parts in Georgia Reservoir Were Reportedly Scammers ‘Leave Us Alone!’: Meijer Shuts Off Comments After Employee Harasses Black Runner in Store Parking Lot “What am I being detained for? I’m walking home,” Jeremiah said. “Put your hands behind your back,” the officer told the teenager. The officers then start searching Jeremiah and find his pocketknife. Jeremiah complies with the officers’ commands, but they still put him in handcuffs. He immediately tells the officer he has a pocketknife in his pocket. “Someone call my mom! This is the second time,” he yelled as three officers put him in handcuffs. The video then shows four of Jeremiah’s family members asking the officer why they handcuffed him. He said when he saw Jeremiah, he saw him clutching his crotch. The officer then said he had probable cause to detain the teenager because he didn’t know if he had a gun on him. “What is the crime he committed?” a family member asked. “I heard no crime.” The officer then pulled Jeremiah’s aunt aside and explained again what had happened. “He had a pocketknife on him, and he got very nervous,” the officer said. “He is exhibiting so many signs of committing crimes.” “He’s a kid, he’s only 16 years old,” Jeremiah’s aunt said. Atlanta Black Star obtained the police report from the incident. The reporting officer’s name was redacted. “Should note that through my training and experience, I know that when a subject clutches their hand to their body after seeing the police is a characteristic of carrying or concealing a weapon,” the officer wrote. “Also, through my training and experience, I know that people who wear masks and conduct this behavior are trying to conceal their identity.” The officer claimed in the report that the teen was wearing a sheisty. However, Jeremiah’s face is blurred in the video. “They racially profiled my son because he was walking through the hood. As a Black boy, with his hands in his pants, he had to have a gun on him,” his mother told the Atlanta Black Star. She identified the officer who reported the incident as Nicholas Cooper. Atlanta Black Star is working to confirm his name. “You’re not going to do that to my son. My son don’t do nothing wrong,” Spearman said. “He just walks. I don’t have a car, so when they want to go somewhere, they walk.” The officer also reported that the area where Jeremiah was was known for significant criminal activity. “The male continued to refuse to speak to me and was not being cooperative. The de-escalation technique did not work, and he was detained in a set of handcuffs for the duration of the stop in order to protect everyone involved.” Spearman also pointed out that Jeremiah was not wearing a full face mask as the report claimed. The body camera video blurred the teenager’s face, so it’s unclear. Atlanta Black Star made multiple attempts to reach out to the Battle Creek Chief of Police Shannon Bagley, but was told he was out of town for the week. “Convienent,” Spearman told the Atlanta Black Star. “We all just saw him down at the Juneteenth parade on Friday.” Spearman said no one from the police department has contacted her or her family. As of right now, the officers involved are not facing any discipline. Bagley said officers are expected to respond when they observe behavior they believe could affect others’ safety. “The decision to stop and briefly detain the individual was appropriate,” Bagley said. “The officer’s approach was calm and focused on resolving the situation safely.” Spearman is now working to get legal representation to file a claim against the department. She is also calling for the rest of the body camera video to be released. “You released the body camera video of the second incident; where is the first video?” she asked. The city said it has not yet received a formal complaint about the incident. ‘I Am Walking Home’: White Michigan Cop Detains Black Teen Because He Looked Like He Was About to Commit a Crime, Video Shows ...read more read less