A Pittsburgh mother is demanding answers after a viral video showed a man holding down her 13 year old son at a playground in the city’s Greenfield neighborhood.
According to WPXI, the man, identified as 46 year old Thomas, told police the boy was vandalizing a nearby truck and parts of the playground. The boy and his mother deny that.
The boy’s mother, Shalayla, said her son was at the park with his sister when Thomas began accusing him of vandalism and told the kids to leave. She said Thomas used racial slurs, that he hit her son first, and that her son hit back. She also said Thomas threatened her daughter, who was recording, and slammed her son’s phone to the ground. In a Facebook post, she said, “He hit my son FIRST.”
In two videos she shared online, Thomas is seen on top of the boy while neighbors come to the boy’s defense. Thomas has said he had already called 911 and was restraining the boy until police arrived. His wife has said he is the victim in the situation. Thomas had not commented publicly at the time of this report.
Shalayla told The Root that she and the boy’s father did not arrive until after police were on the scene, nearly 30 minutes later, and that she could not believe officers did not arrest Thomas at the time.
WPXI reports that after an investigation, Thomas was charged with assault, but he did not spend any time in jail. The charge is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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