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Screen grab.
A video posted this week to YouTube shows what appears to be a police officer in Eugene, Ore., striking a 10-year-old boy in the head.
The incident, which reportedly took place on Sunday, was caught on camera by an outraged bystander.
The Eugene Police Department explains that the officer was simply reacting to being bitten on the hand.
"You do not hit an underaged child," one bystander can be heard screaming in the video.
"He just bit me," the officer responds.
A press release from EPD claims the officer whose hand was bit received a very minor injury.
You can watch the bizarre incident unfold here:
The incident began when officers responded to a child custody issue.
The boy has for the last few years been in the custody of his 28-year-old mother, Stephanie Johnston, against a court order, lanetoday.com reported, citing EPD officers.
Law enforcement officials believe the boy never attended school and is supposedly illiterate.
The boy’s father, Brian Wolfe, has a court order awarding him full custody. Johnston, on the other hand, has been denied any parenting time with the boy.
Police reportedly found the boy living with his mother in a bus at a local park.
When the officers came to take the boy, the mother allegedly told him to make a run for it because the police were coming to take him away, KLTV.com reported.
After a brief foot chase, officers apprehended the boy and returned him to Wolfe -- but not before being surrounded and threatened by a gaggle of outraged citizens.
"You don't know who you're messing with!" a shirtless youth shouts at police officers before threatening to use his Mexican mafia connections to "blow up" whatever orphanage or juvenile hall the 10-year-old may be held in.
As of this writing, no charges have been filed.
The case is being referred to the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, lanetoday.com report.
The Department of Human Services has contacted all involved parties with plans to follow-up on the unfortunate incident.
Here's the full event caught on tape (Content warning: video contains very strong language):
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Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter
(H/T: Mediaite).Featured image screen grab.
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