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Bodycamera video released by police shows an incident in which officers peppersprayed a 15yearold girl after her bicycle allegedly hit a car in Hagerstown. Authorities say the girl had refused to cooperate with police trying to question her about the accident and find a parent to authorize her refusal to receive medical treatment from paramedics on the scene. The 15yearold girl faces charges of disorderly conduct, second degree assault, possession of marijuana and failure to obey a traffic device. The incident has prompted disagreement about whether the officers acted properly.
Late Wednesday night, Hagerstown Police released the bodycamera footage of the incident. In a press release, police say the video begins with footage from the first officer on the scene. The recording stops, they say, when the camera was disabled when it was kicked by the teen. Video resumes with bodycamera footage from another officer who responded. Hagerstown Police Capt. Paul Kifer said the incident happened on Sunday. The white officer who arrested the mixedrace girl had to subdue her with chemical spray to get her into a cruiser for a ride to the police station, he said.
"The investigation had to be done," Kifer said. He said that while she appeared uninjured, police also wanted to make sure the girl wasn't hurt and find out who she was. "At that point, as would be even with an adult, if you're refusing to give us information on a traffic situation, at that point you can be arrested until we determine who you are," he said.
Kifer said investigators determined that the girl caused the accident. She's also charged with failure to obey a traffic device and marijuana possession. Kifer refused to publicly identify her, citing privacy concerns. Several officers involved in the girl's arrest remain on duty while the department investigates, Kifer said.
Attorney Robin Ficker, retained by the mother, said police should have taken the diminutive girl to a hospital, as her father did after picking her up at the station. Ficker said she wasn't admitted but suffered sprained muscles and soreness everywhere, including her wrists from being handcuffed. He said she's been unable to participate in high school soccer and wrestling practice.
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