RTA released a statement on the incident.
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The streets of Cleveland turned ugly on Sunday following the first national Black Lives Matter conference, where activists convened to discuss the use of deadly force between police and African-Americans. East 30th and Euclid was blocked by police for a time, but later reopened.
Another video showed the aftermath with several demonstrators recovering from the spray.
The RTA released a statement, saying the boy appeared to be too drunk to care for himself and the officers followed “normal procedure, which is after police collect pertinent information, juveniles are transported to police headquarters to await release to a parent or legal guardian”. Police escorted the youth from the bus to a bus shelter on Euclid Avenue at East 24th Street.
Fifteen minutes later, reports, photographs, and video surfaced of the crowd being pepper sprayed by an alleged member of the Cleveland Police.
The transit authority said a crowd started to surround the police auto in which the teen was held.
Police reportedly “slammed the teen to the ground while making an arrest and pepper spray was used”.
Other law enforcement agencies also responded to the incident. “This is what community looks like”, Mvmt 4 Black Lives tweeted.
The conference kicked off in Cleveland on Friday (local time), with more than 1200 attendees pre-registered and more expected to have attended throughout the weekend.
The Black Lives Matter group also demonstrated in Cincinnati Sunday, calling for justice in the death of Samuel Dubose, an unarmed black man fatally shot by police.
In that 2012 chase, thirteen officers fired at a auto with Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams inside after a long, high-speed chase.
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Brelo’s acquittal, in May, spurred protests that resulted in dozens being arrested.
