On a wintry night in January 2018, 12- and-14-year-old brothers were walking home from dinner at their grandparents’ when they came upon a patrol car. As the strolling boys neared his vehicle, Springdale, Arkansas, police officer Lamont Marzolf jumped out of his car, flashed a light in their faces and began yelling. With his gun pointed at the children, Marzolf stepped toward them and asked, “What are your names?” The boys told him, but Marzolf was not satisfied. He shouted at them to get on the ground and put their hands out, gun still pointed. The boys obeyed.
Over the next few minutes, the brothers’ family members stepped in to explain that the boys were not the adult suspects — one male, one female — the officer was looking for, but to no avail. Instead of easing his control over the children, Marzolf called for backup, had the boys handcuffed and searched them, holding them face down on the snowy ground — at gunpoint — for about seven minutes.
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