Maurice Williams, founder of “A Father’s Love,” and Kenny Carter, founder of “Fathers Alive in the Hood,” joined a teenager and his mother outside the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway on Jan. 14, demanding answers from the NYPD regarding a case of alleged police brutality.
Jelani Scott, 15, and his mother Olga Scott accused officers from the 101st Precinct of abusing and injuring Jelani Scott and his friend, 17-year-old Dorien Mobley on Jan. 3.
Jelani Scott and Dorien Mobley were recording a music video with another unnamed teenager just a few blocks away from the 101st Precinct at approximately 4 p.m. on Jan. 3, when, according to Jelani Scott, NYPD officers allegedly approached them in unmarked cars.
“[NYPD officers] came out of nowhere,” Scott said.
According to Scott, the officers were responding to a 911 call in which someone had reported a person brandishing a gun at the location. He claims that none of the officers identified themselves as NYPD and he took off running because he got scared, since he didn’t know who he was dealing with.
“We started running and they chased us,” Scott said, claiming that about 30 police officers had responded to the scene.
Scott said he ran around the block, which turned out to be a dead end and headed in a different direction before hiding in some bushes. He took off again when one of the officers shone a flashlight in his direction. He claimed that a police officer threatened to shoot him if he turned around. The teenager started running toward Mobley, who had been detained.
Scott slowed down, and an officer allegedly pushed him to the ground, held a gun to his head and punched and kicked him before placing him under arrest, he said.
QNS reached out to the NYPD, as well as the PBA, for a statement on the incident; representatives for both declined to comment.
In a videotaped message obtained by QNS, Mobley shared his account of Jan. 3 incident.
Mobley claims that officers only identified themselves when they pointed their guns at the teenagers.
NYPD officers arrested Mobley while pointing a gun at him, even though he had put his hands up, Mobley alleges.
“I said, ‘Sir, I have nothing on me but a knife for my protection. That is my everyday carry for my own protection,'” Mobley stated.
Mobley said that officers kicked him to the ground while he was on his knees. Officers then picked him up and emptied his pants pockets, and confiscated his cellphone and an asthma inhaler, according to Mobley.
When officers escorted him across the street, he saw that cops were chasing Jelani Scott and then beat and kicked him, according to Mobley, who said he yelled out to the officers that they couldn’t do this to his friend.
“Next thing I know, I got punched in my face by an officer, and he slammed my face into the gate,” Mobley claimed.
Mobley remembers a woman telling the officers, “Y’all can’t do that to the babies,” to which one officer supposedly allegedly responded, “If you don’t mind your business, you’re gonna get what they got.”
Mobley and Scott were both taken to the 101st Precinct. Mobley said that when he eventually saw Scott at the police station, he appeared unresponsive.
“He was in and out,” Mobley said of Scott, who had sustained injuries to his face, arms and knees. “He was not waking up because he was evidently asleep or unconscious.”
According to Mobley, a white police officer was “bragging” about how [NYPD officers] had killed someone in Far Rockaway days earlier.
Olga Scott said that when she picked up her son from the station, an NYPD officer — whom she identified as John Wilson — allegedly told her she should be lucky to get her son back alive. He allegedly repeated to her that officers had killed a man displaying a gun days prior.
The NYPD, having declined to comment on the story, did not confirm the officer’s identity.
“I’m definitely happy I got my son back alive,” Olga Scott said. “I’m grateful. But you still got to explain his bruises all over his face.”
All parties met with Captain Timothy Schultz, the commanding officer of the 101st Precinct. According to the Scotts, Schultz told them that the incident was under investigation, and that the NYPD was reviewing a trove of video footage to identify the officers involved.
Again, because the NYPD declined to comment on this story, this information could not be verified with the department.
Olga Scott said that many had told her to “leave it alone.” She acknowledged that not all officers are bad, but wants the cops involved in the incident to be held accountable.
“I don’t want to see another kid get hurt. That’s why I took it this far,” Scott said.
According to Williams and Carter, the 101st Precinct usually has a “stellar” reputation when it comes to community relations, but they are concerned that a few rogue police officers will undo the bond between officers and the community.
“We watch officers come out to a lot of events,” Kenny Carter said. “They came out in a lot of different situations to shoulder support in the community. But now you have this one group of rogue officers that have come out, I call them ‘KKK insurgents,’ and they start dealing with us in mannerisms that are just uncalled for.”
“They don’t deserve to have badges running around beating up on children,” Williams said. “That’s a little boy. You could look in his face and see that he’s a little boy. So, if he’s doing something wrong, it’s a way to police that without putting guns in his face and just doing a certain thing.”
After his harrowing ordeal, Jelani Scott, who was released into the custody of his mother without any charges filed against him, said, “I don’t want to be around cops no more.”
For Williams, it’s a clear sign of PTSD, but he also reminded Scott that “not every cop ain’t a bad cop.”
Olga Scott added, “That’s sad. What if he wanted to be a cop? Not only did you abuse him physically, but you mentally abused him, too.”
