Menomonee Falls police release body camera footage of 13-year-old's arrest, family taking legal action

Video begins with officers asking for the boy to step outside so they can talk to him. They wanted to talk about a photo his brother had sent to a group chat, and things escalated. 

After speaking briefly outside the home, police tell the boy and his grandfather they'll be bringing him to the police station for questioning. When the 13-year-old, Ronald Shabazz, tried to get back inside, that led to a confrontation with officers and some profane language. 

We spoke to Shabazz Thursday. 

"The school resource officer, he was moving his hand around my neck," Shabazz said. "And once my grandpa and sister said something, he moved it to the back of my head and tried to play it off."

Shabazz says three officers came to his house and woke him up last month. One of them was his North Middle School school resource officer. 

The boy's attorney says the officers should be fired, and they are now taking legal action against them. 

"This officer wanted to exact extra-judicial punishment on Ronald because he knew who he was and didn't like him," Attorney William Sulton said. "They're wrong, and we're going to show them they're wrong in court."

Along with body camera footage released Friday, the Menomonee Falls Police Department released a statement saying the officers remained calm and only used the level of force necessary to take him into custody. 

They say they believe the officers' actions were "reasonable and justified," but went on to say, "We acknowledge it is unfortunate that force must sometimes be used by our officers to effect an arrest of an uncooperative or combative individual."