The violent arrest of two Black teenagers, who were stopped for vaping on the Ocean City boardwalk, is now the subject of a lawsuit.
The two teenagers, 18-year-old Taizier Griffin and 19-year-old Brian Anderson, were arrested in separate incidents in Ocean City, Maryland, earlier in June.
Malcolm Ruff, attorney for both Griffin and Anderson, said in a news conference where he announced the lawsuit that his clients were treated unfairly.
“These incidents indicate a pattern of unreasonable conduct, and have been largely denounced by community advocates, leaders and politicians since the viral spread of the videos of these attacks,” he said.
The videos show Griffin being shocked with a stun gun and Anderson being kneed by Ocean City police officers.
Police claim Griffin was combative and Anderson refused to show identification and tried to walk away from them.
The Black-owned law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy that is representing Griffin and Anderson want the charges against their clients dropped and the officers suspended.
“We see in them what we used to be,” Ruff said. “We know all too well what it means to be viewed as a threat simply by the way that you look.”
