Baton Rouge Mayor-President Wants Release of Officer’s Body Cam Footage Following Viral Arrest

East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome is petitioning a court to release bodycam footage of a teen's arrest by Baton Rouge police officers that went viral.

An investigation is underway after a video from Sunday showed an officer restraining a teen by applying an arm-hold. The general sentiment by the public and the attorney representing the teen is that the technique used on the child was excessive.

Broome's request for the release of the video has not been granted yet by juvenile court mainly due to the fact that the teen is under age. Additionally, several other minors were in the video.

According to those who have viewed the video, it will clear up what happened.

“You will see what led to the first police call. You will see the police coming to the scene, de-escalating and everybody going their way. You will then see officers responding to another call that comes out approximately 30 minutes later, and then you will see the interaction between the officers that respond to the second call and the group of three kids,” attorney for the 13-year-old boy, Ron Haley said.

Sources say the situation all started when two teens, later seen in the video, were tormenting other kids. Police were called twice, and on the second visit, the two teens became uncooperative.

The officers were more stern on the second visit, likely annoyed at how the kids were behaving. A teenage girl was detained as well as the teenage boy, as he was wrestled to the ground when he tried to leave.

Those who have watched the video say the body camera video does not show the boy being choked.

Ron Haley still disagrees with how quickly things escalated.

“I don't understand why he was placed in a headlock. I think there are things that could have been done to avoid that confrontation completely,” he said.

Haley did, however, praise BRPD and Chief Murphy Paul for how quickly he reacted to the viral videos that surfaced shortly after the incident.

"If we're going to criticize the police department and other law enforcement agencies for not being transparent, I think it's important to commend them when they are transparent. I think it does show a shift, at least in BRPD, when there's a critical incident as far as getting that information out to at least the families and legal representatives.”

If the judge does clear the video to be released, it's likely that the faces of all the kids under 18 will be blurred. It is not known when a judge will make a decision on that front though.