The images of the teens, who are between 16 and 17 years old, with their hands handcuffed behind their backs sparked outrage on social media, after an onlooker snapped several photos of the incident and posted it online.
According to the AtlantaBlackStar, critics saw the action of the officers who were in plainclothes as excessive and likely racially motivated.
U.S. Park Police Spokesperson Sgt.
Anna Rose maintains the teens did not have the proper permits required to sell goods on the mall, adding that the three of them were placed in handcuffs “for the safety of the officers and the individuals.” Park authorities added in a statement that the teenagers were let off with a warning about vending without a proper permit and released with no charges.
D.C. Council member Charles Allen questioned the methods employed by the arresting officers, though.
In a letter addressed to police authorities, Allen noted that the teens posed no risk: I do not understand why the enforcement cannot take place with uniformed personnel and actions less severe than handcuffing individuals suspected of the sales.
I can’t help but think how the reaction by these same officers might have varied if different children had set up a quaint hand-painted lemonade stand in the same spot.
I observe any number of lemonade stands in these areas by neighborhood children.
Mr. Bell has offered to equip two of the teenagers with useful IT skills, including training them to become iPhone screen technicians.
“I’m an entrepreneur myself, and I love seeing young people having an interest in working for themselves,” Bell told WJLA.