Video Of Officer Restraining 12-Year-Old Rapper Lil C Note Sparks Criticism, Internal Investigation

Viral video of an Atlanta police officer physically restraining a 12-year-old rapper for selling his CDs at a shopping mall has sparked backlash online and resulted in an internal investigation into the situation.

Lil C Note, born Corey Jackson, was involved in an altercation with a Cobb County police officer at the Cumberland Mall in Georgia on Oct. 6, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Mall security reportedly called the police on Jackson for selling his CDs on the premises, which is an illegal act and something he has reportedly tried before, according to the outlet. Video of the incident shows a police officer, who was reportedly working part-time at the mall, physically restraining Jackson by holding him by the arm before a brief physical altercation between the officer and Jackson’s aunt.

Jackson was charged with felony obstruction, misdemeanor criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while his aunt, identified by the outlet as Coraletha Jackson, is facing charges of felony obstruction, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and providing a false name to law enforcement. Jackson was later released to his father, while Coraletha spent the night in jail before being released on an $8,470 bond, the outlet reports.

Cobb Police Chief Mike Register confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday that the department has launched an internal investigation into the situation after learning of it via social media postings.

“I feel that the officer was in his legal means to stop the juvenile from leaving the scene,” Register said. “I believe also that a more thorough investigation will ultimately show the facts that we all need to make a final determination if that was justified or not.”

The identity of the officer seen in the viral video, who currently remains on active duty, has not been shared, per the department’s policy on ongoing investigations, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In video that Jackson posted on his Instagram page earlier this week, the officer can be seen holding Jackson’s arm by the bicep and wrist and instructing him to “stop.”

“You’re 12? Stop,” the officer says. “You’re about to go to jail. You’re going to go to a youth detention center if you don’t stop.”

Jackson’s aunt, while filming the video, tells the officer, “I have his father on the phone and you won’t even speak to him.” The officer responds, “Yup.”

Jackson then addresses the officer, requesting that he be let go, when his aunt intervenes and an altercation breaks out, jostling the camera considerably.

“You put your hands on me again [inaudible],” the officer can be heard saying. Jackson’s aunt can be heard replying, “You put your hands on my motherf--king nephew.”

When the camera rights itself, a man who appears to be a security officer for the mall can be seen now holding Jackson.

Jackson’s Instagram video has been viewed more than 159,000 times so far. Activist Shaun King and director Jason Pollock both spoke out on social media about the video, criticizing the officer for his treatment of the child.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Register said that mall security notified police after spotting Jackson trying to sell his CDs on mall property after he had already been issued a warning for criminal trespassing. Register reportedly claimed that Jackson was “verbally combative” after the officer arrived and, after opting not to answer the officer’s questions, then attempted to leave. It was at that point that the officer “got physical control” of Jackson, Register said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Toya Brown, a manager at Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, Georgia who has worked with Jackson before, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she spoke with Jackson’s family following the incident, and they report that he complied during his interaction with police.

In his Instagram post, Jackson addressed the incident in a lengthy caption.

“The fact that he snatched me & was trying to drag me around like I’m some criminal that’s stealing, robbing or killing or sum is crazy,” he wrote. “But tha worst part is he trying to charging me with a #felony putting my hands on a #PoliceOfficer he say I tried to brake his fingers, he say I cussed him & he say I pushed him!”

Jackson, a rapper and entrepreneur, was featured on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” last year after raising $10,000 in a toy drive. He has also gone on tour with with rappers J. Cole, Young Thug, and Jaden Smith, Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

[Photo: Screenshot via Instagram/Corey Jackson]