Police are investigating after an 11-year-old boy said he was hit by a D.C. police cruiser while riding his bike on Thursday.
The boy said he was riding in an alley between Otis Place and Newton Street in northwest D.C. when police wanted to see what was in his pocket. The boy told News4 it was fireworks.
The boy and his mother said he stopped his bike before hitting a wall, and the cruiser struck his wheel. "I fell off," the boy told News4.
Witnesses said they were concerned that officers drove off without helping the boy, who has a cut on his leg. "They shouldn’t have just left him there," the boy's mother told the Washington Post.
Police said in a statement that they believed the boy had hit the wall of the alley. They are taking a look at the incident.
"While we are glad the juvenile was not seriously injured in this incident, we are taking these allegations involving one of our officers extremely seriously," the police statement said.
"MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is conducting a full investigation to determine exactly what happened and whether proper procedures were followed."
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The boy's mother said the incident has made her son fear police. "This is making it worse," she said.
