Hinesville police address viral video of teen detention at movie theater

LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Hinesville police are responding to a video that surfaced on social media showing officers detaining a group of teenagers at a local movie theater.

The incident occurred after four teens were causing disruptions inside the theater, according to Hinesville Police Chief Tracey Howard. An off-duty officer asked them to leave.

“The entire event of the arrest from the time that he’s brought down to the ground while running to the time he is in custody and being stood back up is 10 seconds,” Howard said.

The group returned multiple times to the theater’s property and was told if they continued they would be arrested for trespassing, Howard said. Additional police were called to the scene after the group returned for the fifth time.

Charlena Stewart, the mother of one of the teens, said the officer called for help “with a group of unruly teens when it was literally three 15 year olds and one 12 year old.”

“That’s when all the police just started jumping out and say hey hey hey and then that’s when the guy that I was talking to that’s when he said you’re you’re being detained that’s when he said Jaden you’re being detained,” Stewart said.

Howard showed video of multiple teens running away from the additional officers.

Jayden Hart, the teen being arrested in the video, said he doesn’t think he was causing enough problems to be treated like that.

“Really confused like it was like I don’t understand why they did all that it really wasn’t necessary and I really I didn’t pose as no threat so it shouldn’t been that much force,” Hart said.

Deandra Hart, Jayden’s mother, said she doesn’t want the incident to be brushed under the rug.

“I was upset about the whole situation in its totality and upset with myself as well that I did not hear my son out at that at that time,” Deandra Hart said.

Howard said his team is working to release the body cam footage to the public so the entire Hinesville community can see what happened that night.