'This is a child': Use of force expert weighs in on body cam of Menomonee Falls police arresting 13-year-old

Video begins with officers asking for the boy to step outside so they can talk to him. They wanted to talk about a photo his brother had sent to a group chat, and things escalated. 

After speaking briefly outside the home, police tell the boy and his grandfather they'll be bringing him to the police station for questioning. When the 13-year-old, Ronald Shabazz, tried to get back inside, that led to a confrontation with officers and some profane language. 

On the video, Shabazz gets defensive and distraught when the officers start to grab him.

Dr. De Lacy Davis told us, "It gave the sense this was an adult offender."

Davis is a retired New Jersey police sergeant and a former police academy instructor with more than 20 years' experience.

He watched the videos and read the police statements. He told us, "My lens of all of that is this is a child. And this child responded as most children would if they were being accosted by three grown men."

A third officer arrives as the first two get Ronald on the ground.

At one point, the school resource officer put his hand near Ronald's neck.

We spoke to Shabazz Thursday. He said three officers came to his house and woke him up last month. One of them was his school resource officer from North Middle School. 

"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."

They flipped him on his stomach and put his hands behind his back. Then Ronald was handcuffed.

In a new statement, Menomonee Falls police wrote, "a short time after officers contacted the juvenile suspect at his residence, he became uncooperative and physically resisted officers' attempts to take him into custody."

Davis said the language in the release was intentional. "There were just cues in the report that said to me that they're trying to make sure that this goes well."

Davis told us officers are taught that young boys do not have fully developed decision making until they're 25. He likened this police response to one for an adult.

Multiple times this week, including again Friday, we called and emailed school and district administrators and others—seven people in all—with questions about this incident and requests for an interview or comment.

So far, no one from the School District of Menomonee Falls has responded.

The boy's attorney says the officers should be fired, and they are now taking legal action against them. 

"This officer wanted to exact extra-judicial punishment on Ronald because he knew who he was and didn't like him," Attorney William Sulton said. "They're wrong, and we're going to show them they're wrong in court."

The police statement went on to say the officers remained calm and only used the level of force necessary to take him into custody. 

They say they believe the officers' actions were "reasonable and justified," but went on to say, "We acknowledge it is unfortunate that force must sometimes be used by our officers to effect an arrest of an uncooperative or combative individual."

Towards the end of the video, Ronald screams when one officer pulls him to his feet. And he kicks the police cruiser when they take him to the car.

Davis said, "It talked about the child escalating. Well, the child is a child. And the child did not take an oath to protect and serve. Law enforcement did."