A Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer racially profiled the moment he decided to shoot his taser at a 16-year-old, says the boy’s mother, Kris. Rodeman.
“It could have ended really bad. He could have been killed,” said the mother, who specified that her son is biracial.
The young man, Jack, was visiting his girlfriend’s house on June 16 in Fort Myers, Florida, when an FHP officer began to follow him because “his behavior, appearance and body language seemed to be that of a thief”, according to the agent’s report.
According to the officer’s report, the teenager ran and went through the bushes that were at the edge of the property.
The officer, identified as George Smyrnios, approaches and tells him that he should put his hands behind his back, as seen in a video that has just come to light capturing the incident.
Instantly, Smyrnios unfolds the Taser pistol and the young man falls backward onto a fireplace structure in the courtyard.
“Sasha!” shouts Jack, when a woman is seen leaving the house where the events occurred.
The teenager was taken to a detention center on multiple charges, including a violation of law enforcement failure, possession of marijuana, resisting arrest, and loitering.
The incident is still under active investigation.
FHP says they will release their findings when it’s done.
Smyrnios continues to practice as the investigation continues.