Seattle Police Face Outrage After A Video Of A Pepper-Sprayed Child Goes Viral
Police in Seattle are facing a growing chorus of criticism after a video showing the aftermath of a pepper-sprayed child has gone viral on social media.
According to The Guardian, the confrontation happened during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Seattle on May 30. Mando Avery claimed that he attended the event with his 7-year-old son, in addition to three generations of his African-American family and members of his church.
However, the protests did not remain without conflict for long. According to Avery, police fired pepper spray into the crowd without any warning or provocation. Avery added that the pepper spray canister hit his 7-year-old son — whose name is being kept private — squarely in the face.
A video taken by a bystander shows the young boy crying in pain, as other civilians attempt to help him by pouring milk into his eyes.
Avery claimed that his son has since been traumatized from the event, in addition to suffering a chemical burn on his cheek.
Though the confrontation happened two weeks ago, the video of the event is just beginning to pick up steam on social media.
Versions of the original video received around 244,000 views on YouTube. However, over the past 12 hours, a second repost of the video by The Guardian has received an additional 85,000 views, with the number growing exponentially.
Part of the newfound interest is because the man who filmed the video, hairstylist Evan Hreha, was recently arrested. Though authorities claimed that Hreha faces changes because he unlawfully used a laser pointer to blind cops, Hreha has claimed that he is innocent and his arrest was a form of “retribution” for the video.
Hreha was arrested last week and was denied bail, forcing him to spend two days in jail.
Meanwhile, the increased attention has convinced Avery to speak out publicly about the incident.
“I would say that you were targeting my boy,” Avery proclaimed after being asked what he would say to the police.
“I don’t know if you were trying to set an example and strike fear into him. You did a great job,” he added.
The father also slammed the police for not helping his son when he was clearly in pain.
“No officer, who’s paid to protect, chose to stand up, break the ranks, go help this child,” Avery claimed.
“I just don’t understand how any of them can sleep,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Seattle continues to grab headlines due to the creation of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, known as CHAZ. As was previously reported by The Inquisitr, Trump recently attacked Seattle’s mayor in a number of blistering tweets for letting radicals “take over” the city.
