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Video of Lakeland police beating 16-year-old shared on social media

A video that appears to show Lakeland police beating a 16-year-old teenager during an arrest raises doubts about the officers' use of force.

Lakeland Police responded to a call on Memorial Day reporting that there were several people in the pool at the Caroline Apartments, 1906 Griffin Road, who did not live at the apartment complex.

According to a police affidavit, officers arrived and began questioning people at the pool about where they lived, asking them to provide their apartment numbers. Officers made contact with the manager of the apartment complex, who asked them to evict anyone using the facility who was not a resident.

A 16-year-old boy, whom The Ledger has not identified in accordance with our crime reporting guidelines, refused to give officers his apartment number. Officer Christopher McKee said he verbally informed Hudson that he was trespassing because he could not prove his residency, his affidavit states.

Shortly after entering the property, the teen left the pool and began gathering his personal belongings. Officers repeatedly asked him to leave the property or he would be arrested, according to the affidavit, but the teen did not leave the property. McKee said the teen put his hand in the officer's face and stated, “I don't need to talk to you,” McKee said in his affidavit.

The officer tried to grab the teen's right arm while telling him he was under arrest. McKee wrote that the teen broke free and flailed his arms at officers as they tried to push him toward a wall, a police affidavit said.

Video shows police officers holding teenagers by their hair and beating them

A 29-second video showing Lakeland police officers arresting the 16-year-old boy was posted to Facebook by a passerby around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. The video had been shared more than 740 times and received 38 comments by Wednesday morning.

The video begins with the 16-year-old boy being pushed back into the corner of the room with objects in his arms. Two Lakeland police officers can be seen facing the teen with their arms raised. One person can be heard yelling at the officers to stay away from the teen.

A Lakeland police officer confronting the teen is seen repeatedly striking him in the torso and head area while he flails his arms wildly. A second officer, with his back to the camera, has a taser aimed at the teen.

After five seconds, a woman, seen off-screen, yells at the police officers to “stop hitting him.”

The officer closest to the camera can be seen grabbing the hunched-over teen by the hair at about 7 seconds. The officer stands at arm's length from the teen, his hand grasping the teen's hair, telling bystanders to back away. The second officer appears to be holding the teen's left arm as he continues to punch him, hitting him in the shoulder and upper body. The teen's right arm can be seen hanging at his side and then reaching for his head.

The first officer lets go of the teen's head about 14 seconds into the video, as bystanders continue to yell for police to stop. Both officers briefly let go of the teen, who stands in the corner of the room with his hands raised, saying something that isn't entirely intelligible in the recording while gesturing to his chest and body.

One of the Lakeland officers steps forward about 15 seconds into the video, rewinds, and appears to punch the teen in the face while the other remains a short distance away, pointing a Taser at the teen's chest.

The teen responds by raising both arms, striking the officer with the palm of his hand as he backs away, then lowering his arms to protect his face and chest after 17 seconds. The same officer steps forward and appears to strike the teen in the head and face after 18 seconds before a sound is heard indicating a taser has been deployed.

The teen falls to the ground when the taser hits him and remains lying on his side and stomach. The officer then moves closer to handcuff the teen and the video cuts out.

The Ledger reached out to Lakeland police about the incident and the video posted on social media, but did not receive an immediate response.

This story will be updated with her response if and when it is received.

Reach Sara-Megan Walsh at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

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