SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An Elk Grove mother is taking legal action against Cal Expo police after she said they assaulted her 11-year-old son at the California State Fair.
However, Cal Expo is defending the stance officers took last week when the boy was detained.
"On Kids Day, last Tuesday, we met a nightmare, a horrific life-scarring emotional event. The police terrorized my family and my child. It is a night that has been scarred and etched in our brains forever. My child is not the same," said Cynthia Martin, who is the mother of 11-year-old Elijah, at press conference.
She said her son was horsing around with some friends when Cal Expo police officers assaulted him.
"The police officers dragged him and beat him up. They pulled him off of the ride after he was kicked off of the ride, and they chased him down and beat him. He has visible scars and emotional scars and injuries," Martin said.
Her attorney said they're in the stages of filing a federal civil rights action.
Martin was also joined at the event by Black Lives Matter Sacramento.
"It just shows the disproportion in how Black teens and Black youth are impacted by law enforcement and have it getting terrorized by law enforcement in this city," said Tanya Faison, founder of Black Lives Matter Sacramento.
Betty Williams, the president of the Greater Sacramento National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also joined her at the event.
"He's a Black man, a Black male. It doesn't matter your age when it comes to the society in law enforcement, you are treated differently," Williams said.
The group said the boy was interrogated without his mother despite her wanting to be in the room. She also said he was made to sign a waiver not knowing what it meant.
A spokeswoman with Cal Expo sent us this statement saying:
"A child, unattended by a parent or guardian, was demonstrating dangerous behavior that put himself and others at risk of severe physical harm, specifically climbing over a safety fence and almost being hit by a roller coaster ride.
Cal Expo Police were initially notified about this youth by fair vendors indicating he was attempting to steal items. After a short chase, the boy was detained by Cal Expo Police and a small cut was addressed with a Band-Aid. After short questioning and agreement by him not to return to the fair, the minor was released to his mother without arrest.
We believe the Cal Expo Police followed all proper policies to quell the situation and keep the minor safe. We encourage any fairgoers with further information to come forward and we welcome any independent review of the incident."
However, Martin believes her son was targeted.
"This was Tuesday, Kids Day. The day that everyone should feel safe as a family to come to the fair and not be terrorized by the police department and assaulted and have visible injuries and visible scars and emotional scars," Martin said.
The group is demanding the names of the officers that were involved, and their termination for alleged child abuse. They're also asking if there is any body camera footage and calling for policies to be put in place and oversight to prevent future incidents where there is child abuse by law enforcement.
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