Man charged after 'illegally detaining black teenager' on his way to basketball practice
‘I have somebody breaking into cars. We have it on video’ Luis Santos allegedly told police
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Your support makes all the difference.A man in Florida has been arrested after he allegedly detained a black teenager who was on his was to basketball practice.
Luis Santos was arrested on Saturday over the incident that occurred on 9 June, according to Raw Story.
In the video that the 54-year-old filmed on his phone, Mr Santos pulled up on the road next to the teenager and asked him where he lived.
The unidentified teenager, who was on his bike, told Mr Santos his address, but the 54-year-old then got out of the car and said: “You’re being detained. You’re not going anywhere.”
The teenager reportedly then put his hands in the air after Mr Santos gestured that he had a gun, before he illegally detained him, according to Newsweek.
Mr Santos later called the police and said: “I have somebody breaking into cars. We have it on video.” He also claimed to be an off-duty officer.
In a statement, Hillsborough state attorney Andrew Warren wrote: “Santos made misleading statements to law enforcement about what he had witnessed.
“The young man felt threatened and was not free to leave, while Santos acted as though he had the legal authority of a law enforcement officer, including compelling the victim to put his hands in the air until sheriff’s deputies arrived.”
Mr Warren added to WFLA that the state attorney’s office wanted to show the area that they “don’t want people taking the law into their own hands”.
“We charged the case here because there is evidence he committed a crime and because it serves the purpose of showing that we’re not going to tolerate vigilantes, who are accosting people, especially when they’re doing it just based on how that person looks,” he added.
Mr Santos has been charged with false imprisonment and third-degree felony, while the teen he detained has not been charged in relation to any crime.
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