New Haven police have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of an officer who was captured on camera knocking a 15-year-old girl to the ground during the annual St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the mayor's office.
Video posted on YouTube shows the officer holding the teen up against an SUV, then pushing her to the ground and holding her hands behind her back. The girl, identified by family members as Teandrea Cornelius, appears to hit her head on the pavement.
Two or three other officers quickly intervene, dispersing bystanders and helping to hold the girl down so she can be handcuffed, the footage shows. The video cuts off while she's still on the ground.
"She has some bruises. Her eye was black. She has some scarring on the side," described the teen's cousin, Kaneisha Harris. "She's actually wearing a sling right now. Her shoulder was fractured; her arm was fractured."
The teen's family is demanding to know why officers used such force during her arrest. Family members said it started with an altercation at Buffalo Wild Wings.
"She's 15; she's young. At her weight, I'm sure you could have handled her," said Teandrea's sister, Brittany. "If I can grab her up, like, 'Listen, come this way,' I'm sure you could have done that. She was handcuffed; what threat did she pose to you?"
Teandrea's grandmother, Annie Boyd, called the incident "horrifying." The family is pursuing legal advice to determine how to move forward.
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Family members said the incident has not changed their opinion of the New Haven Police Department, but if any wrongdoing is found, they want the city to take action. The family also stressed that the incident has nothing to do with race, as some have alleged on social media.
"If they pursue charges and they come across that Teandrea was wrong, she disrespected a cop, she was wrong," said Harris. "Whatever happened, happened. It was too much, but if she's wrong, she's wrong. If the cop was wrong, he's wrong. It's just a right and wrong thing."
New Haven officials said the police department is investigating.
The New Haven St. Patrick's Day parade is the largest spectator event in Connecticut and draws tens, if not hundreds, of thousands to the city.
