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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Matt Payton

Police kick black teenage girl over lollipop and packet of crisps in amateur video

Washington DC Metro Police have been accused of using excessive force after being filmed arresting a black teenage girl after she refused to throw away a packet of crisps and a lollipop entering a train station.

The 18-year-old was detained by two Metro officers at Columbia Heights train station on the charge of unlawful entry. Eating and drinking is forbidden in the US capital's train stations.

A three-minute video taken by a member of Black Lives Matter DC chapter shows the girl refusing to comply with the officers' demands, leading her to being handcuffed behind her back.

When the girl refused an order to sit down near the ticket gate, one of the officers hooked him arm behind her elbow and kicked backwards against her calf, knocking her to the floor.

The unamed teenager attempted to prop herself against the wall, to which the officers pushed her down into a sitting position.

Acording to the police report, the teenager was not injured in the incident and was taken to a nearby police station. 

Metro spokesman Richard L. Jordan told the Washington Post police had not pursued charges.

The DC chapter of Black Lives Matter described the video as another example of transit police "violently interacting with black bodies as usual".

Metro General Manager Paul J Wiedefeld saw the video and ordered an internal review of the incident. The officer in question has not been charged.

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