Sacramento police are defending their use of a clear mesh “spit mask” on a 12-year-old boy. According to the Sacramento police department “Our officers are the victims. The spit mask is not considered any type of use of force.”

Officers “appropriately used a spit mask to protect themselves and defuse the situation,” Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in a statement on the April 28 incident. “I am grateful that our officers were willing to proactively intervene when they observed suspicious activity, and that nobody was injured during this encounter.”

The police officers released bodycam video shows the 12-year-old repeatedly cursing and shouting that he can’t breathe after he is handcuffed and placed face down on the ground, and police pull the mask over his head.

The encounter started after Police said they spotted the boy running away from a security guard and helped detain the youth.

Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sacramento-police-black-boy-arrest_n_5ce7087ee4b0a2f9f28c0e30