Video Of Bellevue Police Tasing Of Black Teen Called 'Excessive'

BELLEVUE, WA - A video of Bellevue police Tasing and arresting a black teen has been viewed over 4 million times online, and a leader of the local NAACP chapter told KING 5 that the use of force depicted in the video was "excessive." Bellevue police Chief Steve Mylett is pledging to investigate the incident, however.

The video was shared on Facebook by the gossip website Media Takeout. The video shows a group of officers informing the teen that he is going to get arrested. After a short back-and-forth with the teen, several officers move in to make an arrest, and appear to use a Taser as they place him in handcuffs.

Mylett told KING 5 that the incident took place on Saturday at the Bellevue Square Mall. The teen had been banned from the mall, and officers were attempting to remove him for trespassing. Mylett also said the teen was a suspect in a car theft. In the moments before the video was taken, Mylett told KING 5, the teen had fled from police on foot.

Comments on the video on Facebook criticize the officers' response, in particular that it took so many police officers to subdue one person. Mylett is asking for patience while the incident is investigated.

“We can’t ignore the facts that there are white police officers and a juvenile African-American male that are involved in this incident,” Mylett told KING 5. “Give us time to investigate this. Please don’t jump to conclusions based on one minute and 47 seconds of an interaction."

Image via Facebook