Police detain black teen for clutching his own pants

Jeremiah Spearman was walking home in the cold, hands tucked into his pockets for warmth, when a police officer interpreted the gesture as suspicious—believing he might be hiding a gun. According to WWMT, the 16-year-old was stopped by Battle Creek, Michigan, police on June 14 while making his way down Hubbard Street in the Washington Heights area.

Body camera footage, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, shows an officer pulling up and calling out, “Come here. You’re not in trouble. What’s going on?” Spearman continued walking and asked why he was being detained, stating he was simply heading home. He was soon handcuffed. The officer’s report cited Spearman clutching his pants as a potential sign of weapon concealment.

In an interview with WWMT, Spearman clarified that he had his hands in his pockets because it was below 60 degrees. He also informed officers he was carrying a pocket knife—a legal item for someone his age—and was searched and released without charges.

The officer’s written account added that Spearman was wearing a mask, suggesting intent to hide his identity. However, the released video blurs his face, making it impossible to independently confirm the claim. The officer wrote that keeping a hand close to the body after noticing police is a known indicator of concealed weapons, and that combining that behavior with wearing a mask often signals an attempt to avoid identification—assertions based on his training and experience.

Spearman’s mother, Martricia Spearman, strongly criticized the stop. Speaking to Atlanta Black Star, she said her son was racially profiled: “He’s a black boy walking through the neighborhood, hands in his pants, so he must have a gun.”

This wasn’t his first troubling interaction with local police. Two weeks earlier, he said an officer tackled him forcefully, pinning him to the ground with a knee in his back.

He described the experience as traumatic. Police Chief Shannon Bagley acknowledged the prior incident occurred but has not released details or body camera footage from that encounter, despite repeated requests from the family.

Battle Creek Mayor Mark Behnke told WWMT he reviewed the June 14 footage and had concerns about the officer’s approach, though he declined to elaborate, referring the matter to the city’s newly formed Community Oversight Board, which is set to review the case on July 10. Chief Bagley defended the stop as consistent with department policy, adding, “This is not how we aim to police, even if such incidents do occur—and this will be reviewed.”

Statistics cited by WWMT from Police Scorecard highlight broader concerns. While Black residents make up about 18% of Battle Creek’s population, they account for nearly 49% of arrests and are 3.2 times more likely than white residents to be arrested for minor, nonviolent offenses. Between 2013 and 2023, all four people killed by city police were black, and none of the civilian complaints about use of force during that time were ruled in favor of the complainant.

Jeremiah said the recent stop has deeply affected how he sees his community. “I feel unsafe walking around now,” he told WWMT. “I’m constantly looking over my shoulder.” His mother is now seeking legal counsel and demanding the release of the earlier body camera footage. “You released the video from the second incident—what about the first?” she asked, according to Atlanta Black Star.

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Original ARticle: Police detain black teen for clutching his own pants