13-Year-Old Kid Detained for Allegedly Walking a Dog, But Police Claim They Don’t Know If a Crime Was Committed: ’Traumatize My Kid’

A 13-year-old kid was allegedly detained by police officers on his way back home based on allegations that he was walking a stolen dog in Delran, New Jersey. The incident was shared on Facebook by the young teen’s mother, Amma Safo-Agyekum, alongside a video of the heated confrontation with the officers.

In her post, Safo-Agyekum explained in her caption that the incident occurred on July 29 when her son, Amari Avant, was returning home from his football practice. However, police officers from the Delran Police Department had allegedly detained Avant for more than an hour after accusing the young teen of walking a dog. Safo-Agyekum clarified in her post that she and her family do not currently own a dog despite the police officers’ allegations.

Safo-Agyekum said that her son was detained due to Avant fitting the description of a “Black boy walking a dog,” whom the police officers were allegedly looking for in relation to a case involving stolen dogs. Now, the mother is demanding an apology from the police department and claimed that her family was left deeply affected over the incident. “I deserve an apology. My son and my family are traumatized. I didnt know it was a crime to walk home while black,” she said in her post.

Police Officers Didn’t Provide Proof Supporting the Allegations

In the video Safo-Agyekum shared, two officers can be seen telling the mother that Avant is under investigation, as Safo-Agyekum rejects the police officers’ decision to detain her son. “You’re not investigating anything. My son was at football and [then] my house,” Safo-Agyekum told the police officers. “He did nothing wrong. You have no reason to stop my son. Because of a missing dog?”

The police officers continued to accuse Safo-Agyekum’s son of walking a dog, while the mother denied these claims. The police supervisor was also on the scene as one of the two officers and can be heard in the video saying, “Yes, ma’am. We’re trying to figure out if he found a dog and we can return the dog home.”

Safo-Agyekum told the police officers that they were traumatizing her son with the accusations. “Trying to traumatize my kid [by] being pulled over by two cops for a dog,” she argued. “He told you it was not his dog. Let him go. Why is he still here?” This isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred, as a Black woman was also detained at a Target for supposed theft despite denying the allegations.

Safo-Agyekum then asked the police officers repeatedly if her son committed a crime that led to his detainment. However, the police claimed that they “don’t know” yet, as the incident is “under investigation.” Safo-Agyekum and the two officers continued to argue about the existence of an investigation.

When asked for video proof, the police officers responded with, “We don’t have [it] yet. It’s still [under] investigation.” The police officers ended the confrontation and told Safo-Agyekum to file a complaint with the police station and that they would continue to investigate the issue.

Safo-Agyekum Files a Complaint With Delran

“I don’t believe this. Also, now ya’ll just walk away,” Safo-Agyekum yelled to the retreating police officers. “You had my son sitting on the curb for an hour, and now you’re gonna walk away? For a f****** dog?”

Per the Atlanta Black Star, Safo-Agyekum had reportedly filed a complaint with the police department and requested the bodycam footage of the incident. However, she was reportedly told that the footage would take 45 days to procure.

“I’m glad I recorded it and posted it up because we just moved there. We’ve only been there since the end of May. But apparently, looking at all the responses, that department is known, unfortunately, for racist stops and racist behavior,” Safo-Agyekum said.

According to Safo-Agyekum, Avant had been talking with his father on the phone when the police officers arrived, accused her son of walking a dog, and asked for its whereabouts. Safo-Agyekum reportedly arrived within 20 minutes and recorded the confrontation.

Safo-Agyekum claimed that the police officers’ stories kept changing, and they had initially explained that her son looked distressed, hence why they pulled over. However, Safo-Agyekum supposedly did not believe the reasoning as she was a nurse.

Reportedly, Safo-Agyekum and Avant’s father visited the police station to view the bodycam footage and claimed that six police officers were originally surrounding her son during the incident. As of writing, the Delran Township Police Department had not publicly addressed the incident.

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