via Maxpixel
The Shoppes at Bel Air in Mobile, Alabama and Allied Universal Security have some explaining to do. When a group of Black teens attempted to enter the mall, they say a security guard approached them with a K-9 police dog. What happened next shocked everybody.
The teens say when the guard approached them, he didn’t ask any questions at all. He just ordered them against the wall and began handcuffing. They said he did it because they’re Black and the way this situation played out is definitely unreasonable.
The security guard, not even a police officer, decided to escalate the situation by ordering his K-9 to attack one of the handcuffed teens, who had to be hospitalized for his injuries.
The group of five were aged between 15 and 20 years old.
Attacking a group of teens with a K-9 unit is definitely excessive, but the police seemed to be fine with it - and the mall isn’t apologizing. They’re even trying to smear one of the teens for “resisting arrest” and for possessing marijuana. So the teens are suing.
Hopefully, this will all get sorted out when all five have their day in court, but a mall where it’s OK to attack Black teens like this doesn’t sound like anywhere we’d want to shop. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine somewhere Black teens are safe from being profiled!