'It hurt': Teenager describes Menomonee Falls arrest on video, attorney believes excessive force was used

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (CBS 58) – The 13-year-old arrested by three Menomonee Falls police officers says he was scared and shocked when it happened on May 21.

In a new interview with CBS 58, Ronald Shabazz and his attorney, William Sulton, say they believe excessive force was used by police over a misunderstanding.

Shabazz says this all started when he was in the shower when his 11-year-old brother took a photo of him.

The 13-year-old said, 'I'm going to tell on you,' but the 11-year-old told a school resource officer the opposite, that the 13-year-old took a photo of the 11-year-old in the shower. The SRO left the school and went to the house with two other officers.

The teenager and attorney said things escalated and the officers threw the boy to the ground.

“When they flipped me over, they pushed me down, they were pushing my stomach down by my back and I couldn't breathe for a little bit,” Shabazz said. “It hurt. I was scared. It was kind of shocking.”

"The school resource officer, he was moving his hand around my neck," Shabazz said. "And once my grandpa and sister said something, he moved it to the back of my head and tried to play it off."

“We do not need three officers on one 13-year-old child,” Sulton said. He added, "This officer wanted to exact extra-judicial punishment on Ronald because he knew who he was and didn't like him."

While the attorney alleges the boy was choked, police told us, "One officer placed his hand momentarily in the area of the juvenile’s shoulder and neck area as he flailed about."

They added, "This action was an attempt to secure the juvenile’s torso while another officer attempted to secure the individual’s lower body."

"Each and every one of them should be fired. It is crazy that they're not," Sulton said.

Ronald said he's already had a lot of interactions with police over the years. "It makes me feel targeted from police officers."

Sulton said that's a common Black experience.

"I don't know any Black men who haven't had an interaction like this with police, to be frank," he said. "All the people I went to law school with, all the judges I know, all the doctors, bankers, financial professionals, everybody you see in this office suite, has a story like this as a teenager or as a young adult. I do, too. And I think that is a real problem."

The Menomonee Falls Police Department has told us no further information will be provided at this time and did not respond to additional questions Thursday.