A video of Bridgewater, N.J., police officers responding to a fight between teenagers is being seen as a new example of racial bias in policing, NPR reports. The fight, which occurred at a mall, involved a a black and a white teen. It was broken up by police within 15 seconds. The white teenager, who was standing over the black teenager when the fight was ended, was quickly pulled off by an officer and left sitting on a couch. The black teen was tackled by one officer and is quickly pinned to the ground. Despite the fact that he did not appear to be struggling, the other officer puts her knee on the black teenager as the other officer handcuffs him. The white teenager stands behind the scene, unrestrained and lacking attention from the officers.
An onlooker can be heard to say that the disparate treatment is "because he's Black. Racially motivated." Other viewers had the same reaction. The Bridgewater police said officers were on the scene because of a tip that the fight would take place. The department said that it was seeking assistance from Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, whose Internal Affairs Unit is investigating. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said, "Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I'm deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video."