Elk Grove Police Investigating Traffic Stop Incident Caught On Video Involving Black Teen
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - A mother is furious over how an officer with the Elk Grove Police Department handled her black teenage son during a traffic stop.
Now, the department is releasing its video from the incident amid calls for transparency.
"You will not be the judge, the executioner on this property right here," Stacey Harvey-Slocum said in a Facebook video.
"This officer here is harassing my son," she said on Facebook Live.
After the department released its video, Police Chief Timothy Albright said, "Our goal is to provide context by releasing the entirety of the video."
It shows what happened before and after Tobias Eagle, 19, is pulled over for running a stop sign in his neighborhood.
The officer in the video called for back up even before making contact with Eagle. Eagle keeps driving, eventually stopping in front of his home
The garage door is open and his mother, Stacey Harvey-Slocum is outside. Things growing equally more intense on both sides as Tobias gets out of the car.
"I noticed that a police car was here. I hear something faint in the background. It's not until I open my door that I recognize what she was saying," Eagle said of the officer.
The officer then asks whether Tobias was on parole or probation even as she holds his ID in her hands.
"She stood there and tried to intimidate us," Eagle said.
His mother can be heard in the video saying she doesn't want her son to become the next hashtag.
"If we made a wrong move we wouldn't be doing this interview," she told CBS13.
Now the family is filing a formal complaint saying they want this exchange on record.
"My son did not want to dismiss the complaint and let this happen to someone else and it's not documented that it's happened before," said Harvey-Slocum.
An outside entity is now conducting an independent investigation. The officer is still on the job during this investigation.
The following statement was released by the Elk Grove Police Department:
"On the evening of Sunday, September 13, the Elk Grove Police Department was made aware of a traffic stop involving one of our officers that was captured on video and was circulating on social media.
As is our practice to be transparent, Chief Albright has solicited an outside entity to conduct an independent investigation into the incident and to provide an impartial and independent review.
After becoming aware of the video posted to social media, we reached out to the family. Chief Albright began a dialogue with family members and invited those family members to meet in person. Along with Chief Albright and Assistant Chief Davis, the officer involved in the traffic stop volunteered to meet with the family and be a part of the process. Chief Albright also invited a member of the Chief's Community Advisory Board (CAB) to take part in the discussion. We remain willing to be part of the discussion.One of the issues that arose from several viewers of the video was the unauthorized cloth face covering worn by the officer during this interaction. Recognizing that one of our core responsibilities is to project neutrality and pay deference to others' perspectives; in this instance we fell short of that responsibility. The Elk Grove Police Department provided guidance on April 8, 2020 on the type of cloth face coverings expected to be worn by our staff. Following the above event, Chief Albright issued an administrative directive to staff.
The Elk Grove Police Department remains committed to transparency and policing that reflects our Mission, Vision, and Values."