The family of an eighth grade boy whose shoulder was broken during a police stop say they plan to sue the Newark Police Department.
Fifteen-year-old Jamod Watkins said that he was walking home from the grocery store with hot dogs and buns on 14th Street and 14th Avenue when a dark SUV shined a light in his eyes.
He said the light frightened him, so he ran away. He was eventually caught by several men in plain clothes who identified themselves as police.
His attorney says that they knocked the teen to the ground and yanked his arm behind his back, breaking the teen's shoulder. After the encounter, the cops assigned to the department's gang unit left the teen crying on the ground.
The family says it is suing for physical and emotional pain and suffering.
Friday, Watkins, an eighth grade baseball star, was in a sling and hospital gown as he told NBC 4 New York about the experience.
"It's terrifying, I wouldn't imagine something like this would happen to me," Watkins said.
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Watkins' mother said that when she was on the way to the hospital she stopped at a precinct to ask why the boy was stopped, only to find out that the incident wasn't reported.
The department later suspended two-year veteran Roberto Ruiz for failing to fill out an incident report for nearly 24 hours. The other cops are still working.
