Deep South? Ulysses, after the Troy Police rearranged the teen’s face.
The family of a Black teen whose face was pulverized by police in Troy, Alabama, has hired Ben Crump, who gained prominence during the Trayvon Martin case.
A photo circulating on social media shows the teen, 17-year-old Ulysses Wilkerson, handcuffed to a hospital bed with his face swollen as if a truck had run over it.
Crump, together with Dustin Fowler and Steve Etheredge, who are with the Buntin, Etheredge & Fowler firm released a joint statement this evening saying:
“We will do everything in our power to seek justice for Ulysses Wilkerson, an African-American teenager who was brutally beaten at the hands of police in Troy, Alabama, on the night of Dec. 23. We have been in communications with the state bureau of investigations, which has shared that they are diligently working toward answers for the community, the state and our country as they complete a thorough investigation. The family is adamant about the community staying engaged to help seek for justice for their 17-year-old son. This is not just a matter of black and white, it is a matter of humanity.”
Circumstances of the incident aren’t available but the teen’s family is expected to make a statement tomorrow.
Troy Police Chief Randall Barr in a statement to local media claim the boy “fled” from police shortly after midnight on December 23 in downtown Troy and that he “resisted arrest,” the standard line whenever Black males end up with physical injuries from the police.
The Police declined to say whether video from body cameras from the incident exists. Separately, a rally is reportedly planned for Saturday morning at 11 a.m. in front of the Troy Police Department.
