A 15-year-old boy is being treated at a south London hospital after police accosted him while he was on his way home, accused him of robbery, then tried to detain him. His mother and others are now asking for justice using the hashtag #JusticeForTerrell.
Terrell Decosta Jones-Burton, who has never had a criminal record, was on a bike racing home to make it in time for his curfew after shopping with friends, when officers stopped him. The officers attempted to detain him as he rode through Bermondsey on Tuesday evening, following reports of a robbery. In the process, he sustained severe injuries and on the way to the hospital, he reportedly suffered seizure as a result of a bruising on his brain.
Photos of him following the attack shows him with a split lip. He also lost some of his teeth, suffered a broken jawbone, bruising on the brain and abdominal pain as a result of trauma to the stomach. He remains in a stable condition in hospital. His mother has shared a video of the officer who she claims brutalized her son and is asking for justice.
A watchdog is now investigating police officers who detained the 15-year-old boy leaving him with severe injuries in London. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) appeals for witnesses to come forward.
Explaining what happened, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said officers attempted to detain Terrell as he rode through Bermondsey on Tuesday evening, following reports of a robbery at Albion Street, Rotherhithe, shortly after 9 p.m. They claim he fell from his bike and sustained the injuries as they tried to detain him.
The statement said: "The female victim informed officers that her mobile phone had been stolen by a male youth who had then fled on a bicycle. A short while later officers detained a 15-year-old male youth on a bicycle in Southwark Park Road.
"While being detained, the male came off his bicycle and was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a south London hospital where he remains in a stable condition with facial injuries."
Terrell’s mother, Shereen Jones, does not agree with the testimony of the police and alleges that her son was beaten by police. Writing on Facebook, she said the teenager "is not a thug" and had been on his way home from local shops with friends when he was approached by officers accusing him of involvement in a mugging.
Scotland Yard and the National Police Chiefs’ Council said they were unable to respond to the claims being made by his mother at this stage of the investigation.
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