Bridgewater community gathers outside of police department, demanding officers disciplined
BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (WABC) -- Dozens of people gathered outside the Bridgewater Police Department Saturday to demand disciplinary actions against two officers for the way they handled a fight between two teens.
Last week, officers intervened in a fight between two teens at Bridgewater Commons Mall, and members of the community say the officers acted with racial bias.
Viral video of the incident shows an older teenager point his finger in 8th grader Z'Kye Husain's face.
Husain pushes his hand away, then the other teen shoves Husain and they begin to fight.
The other teen tackles Husain, punching him several times before two uniformed officers arrive.
The officers throw the other teen onto a nearby couch and proceed to pin Husain to the floor with their knees while handcuffing him.
Meanwhile, the other teen was not handcuffed during the incident.
The People's Organization for Progress, NAACP and National Action Network joined the Bridgewater community condemning how the police department has handled the situation.
"Those officers that racially profiled and brutalized Z'Kye must be fired," said Lawrence Hamm, Chairman of the People's Organization for Progress.
Z'Kye's aunt, Enrie Simms, says he was standing up to a high school bully who was harassing his 7th grade friend.
"He did exactly what we all taught him to do, and he was met with not one but two knees in his back while the aggressor towered over him," Simms said.
On Monday, the Bridgewater police department wrote on Facebook, "We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an Internal Affairs investigation."
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The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office is now investigating the incident.
"We want want police brutality to stop here in Bridgewater, New Jersey," Hamm said.
Eyewitness News reached out to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office. A spokesperson said the matter remains under internal affairs investigation.
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