Thread by @anu_obaro

He was traumatised and shouting for his brother, who by this point has been arrested and presumably is in one of the FOUR vehicles the police brought to the scene.

Younger bro was eventually uncuffed and told ‘off you go and get your free pass then’. 3/n

He rushes out of the station to school. @StephaneATweets (new friend made in a crisis) & I run after him. I speak to him and he crumbles, crying uncontrollably. We hug and I literally pick him up from the ground.

He’s. A. Kid. 4/n

We get him to his (private - not that it matters) school. Turns out his brother had his mock GCSEs that morning. Obvs now missed. The school were amazing - they gather round to support him, call parents etc

Now the scene is set, if the issues aren’t obvious let me explain. 5/n

The tendency to escalate to excessive force and the ease with which our black sons are criminalised is well established but even knowing the stats, seeing it at 9am on a Monday at your local station is mind blowing. The disproportionate use of force was staggering. 6/n

There’s a presumption of guilt from authorities re black boys and men (well documented by scholars more learned than me @DavidLammy) - which results in disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system. Only ends badly for us… of course 7/n

It would seem obvious that you don’t de-escalate a situation by using more force. If you were surrounded by 4 men using their hands and feet to incapacitate you (WHEN YOU HAVE A TICKET) wouldn’t you be fearful? 8/n

It’s easy to walk by & assume the boys were guilty ‘of something’, like many did. Why is that? Because you’ve been conditioned to believe that black kids are always ‘up to no good’? Oh & if they’re tall they’re men not boys? Sigh, adultification of black children. @PeteOlusoga

My heart hurts like they were my sons, because they easily could be.

How can it be so easy to brutalise us? Seeing how shattered, afraid and humiliated they were in that moment and after - and the authorities don’t care about the damage. 10/n

I’m grateful that @StephaneATweets (who I just met that day), got video and we have photos to add balance to the narrative. As traumatic as it all was *especially* for them both, we need them to know that there’s someone on their side. 11/n

We’ll advocate for them when adults in authority chose violence instead of the patience and understanding which seems easier to extend to everyone else but black people 12/n

@BTP, @Se_Railway, @MPSShortlands you have to do better. The excessive force used on these two children was not only unwarranted but an absolute abuse of power. What measures will you put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again? 13/n

@SholaMos1
@PaperWhispers
@Nadine_Writes
@estherarmah
@RunnymedeTrust
@JohnAmaechi
@parthaskar
@Champ1Diversity
@BeeBabs
@AntonEmmanuel2
@Jamelia
@KGuilaine
@yvonnecoghill1
@kelechnekoff
@DavidOlusoga
@DavidLammy
@HackneyAbbott
@renireni

@Toddpodd @StephaneATweets

End 🧵

FOUR ticket inspectors putting their hands on the neck and body of a child…. And he was the one who had his pass. Imagine.

His younger brother is in handcuffs at the back. Turns out he forgot his pass in his coat at his grandmas house. 2/n

Thank you all for amplifying this in such an incredible way. It’s been a tough wk ❤️‍🩹 We’re grateful this incident is being highlighted. Mum will be on Channel 4 news at 7pm tonight. @StephaneATweets @Toddpodd @AbdulKarimSPW

Also: theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/d…