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About 20 demonstrators gathered outside of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office on Monday for the second consecutive day to protest a deputy sheriff’s treatment of a 15-year-old during an arrest.

The protests formed in response to a video that began circulating on social media last week that shows at least one deputy pulling the 15-year-old out of the driver’s seat of a car and using profane and threatening language toward him as he pleaded with the deputy to stop.

Photos accompanying the video also show the minor, who is Black, with bruises on his face and neck following the arrest.

Liza Acquah, the minor’s mother, said she feels the same frustration she did two years ago when a school resource officer used excessive force on her other son, Jabari Boykins, breaking his arm in the process. She later sued the Syracuse Police Department and the city of Syracuse for the incident.

“I wasn’t quiet then, and I’m not going to be quiet now,” she said. “That’s why we are here protesting, because I want some justice.”

Demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk and marched to the sheriff’s office, where speakers from local advocacy groups passed the microphone to one another and chanted. The protesters, which included members of RebirthSYR, chanted “Hands up! They still shoot,” and “No justice, no peace.”

Acquah said she was proud of her son for filming the arrest.

“It was a blessing to know that (my son) knew to put that live video on, and (if) he didn’t do that it would be his word against them,” Acquah said. “And it’s always ‘they win.’”

Hasahn Bloodworth, an organizer with RebirthSYR, led many of the chants. The deputy’s treatment of the minor is indicative of systemic racism in the city, he said.

“What we’re talking about is the ones being oppressed. What we’re talking about is the ones being violated,” Bloodworth said. “What we’re talking about is the ones that are being systematically abused.”

“I’ll be out here fighting.” The 15-year-old’s mother gives a speech demanding justice. pic.twitter.com/kIwsJyZ8YE

— Abby Weiss (@abbyweiss_21) November 16, 2020

The minor’s arrest occurred around 4 a.m. on Wednesday following a pursuit related to a stolen vehicle that ended in Oswego County, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to The Daily Orange. The incident is under investigation.

Acquah said her goal is to have the deputy or deputies involved in the arrest removed from their job duties.

“It doesn’t just need to stop, period. It needs to stop happening to my family. This is ridiculous,” she said. “There was never a reason for that car to be pulled over. That’s why I feel this is personal. I’m just tired of it.”

Both of Acquah’s sons arrived at the sheriff’s office toward the end of Sunday’s protest. The 15-year-old took a picture with the protesters and talked with a few of them afterward.

Acquah was shocked and overwhelmed to see her son arrive at the protest because he dislikes the attention. She was happy he got to see people stand up for him and take part in the protests, she said.

“He was seeing that all of us were out there fighting for justice,” she said. “He came and took part in it, and that was just like the most beautiful feeling.”

The protesters plan to reconvene at the sheriff’s office tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

Bloodworth hopes to see more action from local officials, including County Executive Ryan McMahon, to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct.

“It’s about a human being’s life,” Bloodworth said. “Actually, this is a child. We’re talking about children here. The man was handling a child.”

Published on November 17, 2020 at 12:17 am

Contact Hannah: hngonzal@syr.edu