Family seeks answers after video of officer appearing to punch teen during arrest surfaces

The Chester Police Department says they are investigating a video that surfaced that shows an officer appearing to repeatedly punch a teen during an arrest.

Family members identified the teen in the video given to FOX 29 as Bahir Green, 16.

"My friend came up to me and she was like is this your brother?" says Shaniah Carlton, Green’s sister. "I see him getting punched, punched, punched, and then people started sending more videos to me and I got different angles."

Chester police way the arrest happened at 10th and McDowell Streets on Friday morning.

Carlton says officers would only tell her that her brother was arrested following a chase and is in custody. She says her family was not able to speak to him or get any additional details about why he was arrested or how he is doing.

In another video, shared widely on social media, family members say Green clearly gets out of the car with his hands in the air before things turn violent.

His family believes nothing should have escalated from there.

"No cop should’ve done that to somebody’s child, not just him, nobody’s kid should be punched on like that by a cop," says a family member of Green. "You should have arrested him did what you was going to do and take him to the police station."

Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky would not give any details about the arrest but did say the department, along with the Mayor, is aware of the video and it is under investigation."I can’t really comment anything further because we have videos coming in and we’re trying to get as much information in reference to the incident that occurred," Gretsky says.

Monday, the investigation moved from the Chester Police Department to the Delaware County District Attorney’s office. The cell phone video tells one side of the story and the police report suggests something else.

At a news conference outside of Chester police headquarters, community activists and family members are calling for action.

"I am demanding accountability in full transparency. We were initially denied the right to see him. He is traumatized," Carlton stated.

According to a press release from the mayor and police commissioner, they say police chased the teen, who struck parked cars before he crashed. They also say they found a loaded handgun inside the vehicle. And, they said he initially refused medical treatment.

"He’s still just a child, he’s not grown. They wrong, they wrong! It’s unacceptable," Carlton exclaimed.

The case and investigation are with the DA’s office. City officials say they reached out to the teen’s family, but the family disputes that.
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