Battle Creek police officers forcibly detained and handcuffed a Black Michigan teenager walking past a local Arby’s on Sunday, June 14, triggering intense community outrage and immediate accusations of racial profiling from the youth’s family.
The incident escalated rapidly when an officer pulled over along the road to confront 16-year-old Jeremiah Spearman as he walked home. Body camera footage released by the department shows the primary officer shouting commands at the teenager, who initially continued walking down the sidewalk.
“What am I being detained for? I’m walking home,” Spearman said in the footage before being ordered to place his hands behind his back. The teenager repeatedly called for bystanders to contact his mother as three officers converged to apply handcuffs.
Jeremiah said, “Someone call my mom! This is the second time.”
Responding officers immediately frisked the compliance-yielding teenager and recovered a pocketknife from his pants pocket. The situation was immediately condemned by four of the teen’s family members, who arrived quickly at the scene to confront the officers.
According to a redacted police report obtained by investigators, the primary officer justified the physical detention by citing specialized training and experience. The officer noted that Spearman allegedly clutched his hand to his body upon seeing law enforcement, a behavior categorized as a characteristic of concealing a weapon.
The official report also alleged the teenager wore a full face mask, known as a sheisty, to hide his identity in an area known for significant criminal activity. Furthermore, the report stated that the Michigan teenager was uncooperative and that standard de-escalation techniques had failed to resolve the encounter.
However, the teenager’s mother, Marticia Spearman, strongly disputed these official claims and identified the law enforcement official involved as Officer Nicholas Cooper. She pointed out that her son was not wearing a full face mask and that his face was merely blurred by the police department’s video editing.
“They racially profiled my son because he was walking through the hood. As a Black boy, with his hands in his pants, he had to have a gun on him,” Marticia Spearman said to the Atlanta Black Star. She noted that her son doesn’t have a car and frequently walks to reach his destinations.
Shannon Bagley, the Battle Creek police chief, defended the operational choices made during the encounter, asserting that the brief detention remained appropriate given the observed behavioral indicators. Bagley noted that officers are expected to respond when they observe behavior affecting public safety, and no disciplinary actions have been initiated against Cooper.
“The decision to stop and briefly detain the individual was appropriate. The officer’s approach was calm and focused on resolving the situation safely,” Bagley said.
The teenager’s mother expressed frustration with the department’s leadership, noting she was told Bagley was out of town when she had witnessed the chief attending a local Juneteenth parade just days prior.
Marticia said, “Convenient. We all just saw him down at the Juneteenth parade on Friday.”
