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RICHFIELD, Minn. (KMSP) - A Richfield police officer is in some hot water after a video posted to Twitter appears to show him pushing and hitting a teen on Saturday night.
Richfield police released a statement Monday expressing that they've seen the video and are further investigating, but so far no comment specifically on the actions of the officer. The teen who took the video tells Fox 9 he was with a large group of friends in two cars both pulled over while leaving Adams Hill Park in Richfield.
He said the officer began getting very agitated, and in the video you can hear him telling another teen to back away. The officer pushes him, and as they continue talking, the officer hits him across the head.
“The officer was getting really aggressive like he was about to do something,” Mohamed Hayir, who recorded and posted the video, said. “I was like I might as well record this just in case something does happen.”
Richfield police say this began with a call of a "suspicious person" in the park at 6:30 p.m., and the cars were pulled over as a result of that. As far as what exactly unfolded, they're still investigating. But Hayir says his friend was not being disrespectful.
“He did not disrespect him. You could hear everything in the video. He was being respectful. He was telling the officer his situation; he was telling him his brother is coming to get the car.”
Richfield police are not saying much besides confirming the police call. A statement released said, "the department will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter, and will be transparent throughout the process. Information will be released when it becomes available."
The teen in the video that was pushed and hit by the officer wants to get a lawyer. And Somali community activist, Omar Jamal, is asking to meet with Richfield police.