New video depicts an incident that unfolded in a Brentwood park Sunday night and led to four arrests and two officer injuries, while some attendees feel the police actions were in the wrong.
Officers from multiple precincts responded to Ross Memorial Park on Brentwood Road around 9 p.m. Sunday for a 911 call about a large group in the park.
Police say when officers got there, they found a crowd of about 30 people and many of them were in the street blocking traffic. Video appears to show people dancing in the street at one point, but those who were there deny blocking traffic.
"Basically we were all having a good time, the police kept coming in the park, so we turned the music up a little bit, and you know we started dancing and stuff," said Minnie Pearl Dawson. "They left, at that moment we followed them into the streets."
Kierem Harrell and his father say the trouble started when police told them to leave the park by 9 p.m., which is denoted on a sign that says the park closes at dusk. He claims later on, at least five officers tried to grab him.
"We were chilling in that little circle, playing basketball, playing music, we were actually feeding some of the homeless people too," says Kierem Harrell. "I have my hands up, I had chips and juice in my hands, and they just continued to grab me, slammed me to the floor and that's when everyone else was like, 'Yo, what are you doing? Don't hit him, don't hit him.'"
Kierem says he looked at the situation from both sides. He says, "If we had left the park when they asked us to leave, this would have never happened. But at the end of the day, it's a public place."
Kierem's father Keenon says he thinks police incited the issue.
"Cops jumped out and proceeded straight toward my son after everyone was yelling back and forth. I feel in my heart of hearts, they used my son to start this riot with the people," says Keenon Harrell.
Two of the four people arrested were charged with assault. The officers were treated and released from a hospital.