Mary Barton found herself lying on the ground, her hands cuffed behind her.
She rode her bike on someone's property. Or so the owner of said property said. Said property owner called the police. Two officers showed up. One of them told her she could leave, but the second officer told her to stop.
Officer #2 claimed the bike was stolen and demanded identification. She said she didn't have to produce it (Apparently, she was paying attention in her civics class!) and, furthermore, the bike is hers and she's had it since December. Then the cop pulled out his pepper spray and told her to call her mom.
Mary Burton is 14 years old. If you haven't already watched the video, you might have guessed that she's black. Oh, and she's in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
She rode her bike on someone's property. Or so the owner of said property said. Said property owner called the police. Two officers showed up. One of them told her she could leave, but the second officer told her to stop.
Officer #2 claimed the bike was stolen and demanded identification. She said she didn't have to produce it (Apparently, she was paying attention in her civics class!) and, furthermore, the bike is hers and she's had it since December. Then the cop pulled out his pepper spray and told her to call her mom.
Mary Burton is 14 years old. If you haven't already watched the video, you might have guessed that she's black. Oh, and she's in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Her brother, a year older, rushes to her aid and both are up against the police car. Mary fell to the ground, her hands cuffed behind her.
Well, I guess those cops at least believe in gender equality: Usually, it's the guys who get stopped for riding a bicycle (or driving) while black.
