14-Year Old Teen Files Police Beating Complaint

14-year old Darell Briggs came home to his mother with stitches and a cast after police mistook the young teen reportedly for a 21 year-old suspect at a bus stop.

14-year old Darell Briggs of Memphis, TN, came home to his mother with stitches and a cast after police mistook the young teen reportedly for a 21 year-old at a bus stop on Bellevue. The young boy stated that he was questioned by Memphis Police about a stolen car and told the officers he didn’t know anything about a stolen car. While being questioned the 14 year-old teen panicked.

“I was consistently being hit in the face, and when I got in the car, I tried to tell him I was going to cooperate, but he just kept banging my head to the door,” Darell stated to WMCTV.

The teenager suffered a swollen face and ended up with stitches on his chin and a cast on his arm. The Central High School student’s mother Laquetta Briggs, who praised for her son for his high marks in curriculum and conduct, was told by officers that her son had been arrested on a case of mistaken identity and fitted the description of the person they where looking for and had on the same clothes.

“I don’t know how to explain that to him. When I tell him to stay away from violence, and violence was acted on him,” Ms. Briggs said.

The young teen admitted that if he would have remained calm, the officers would have to. Darell and his mother would like now for the officers to own up to what they did.

Since the incident, Southern Christian Leadership Council (S.C.L.C.) President Dwight Montgomery, who saw the airing on TV, escorted Darell Briggs and his mother to the Memphis Police Internal Affairs office on Friday. Darell Briggs filed a complaint against the officers.

“This was actually a racist act,” Montgomery said. “It was racial profiling. How can you say this man looked suspicious and you’re at a bus stop? SCLC is going to go through this process with them and we do expect the Memphis Police Department to do the right thing,” Montgomery stated.

Darrell states that he appreciates the community’s concern, but prefers support over sympathy. The young 14 year-old told WMCTV that he sees a hidden blessing in what happened and it has taught him how many people care about him and how far they’re willing to go to help.

Darell Briggs was charged with assault and resisting arrest and is expected in Juvenile Court in the next two weeks.