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Body cam footage shows Fuquay-Varina teen's interaction with police searching for bike thief

Body cam footage has been released from an exchange where a Fuquay-Varina teenage boy was detained by police in January after as an officer investigated the theft of a dirt bike.

Posted Updated

By
Ryan Bisesi
, WRAL multiplatform producer
FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — Body cam footage has been released from an exchange where a Fuquay-Varina teenage boy was detained by police in January after an officer investigated the theft of a dirt bike.

Malcolm Ziglar, 14, was released from handcuffs after a supervisor ordered the officer to let him go, but not before a scary ordeal.

Officers later cleared him of suspicion after learning the Ziglar family bought the bike not knowing it was stolen.

Excerpts from the footage show police placing Ziglar in handcuffs as he looks around confused, saying 'what?' several times. An officer tells Ziglar he's in possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Ziglar tells the officer multiple times that the bill of sale was in his house.

The officer frisks Ziglar and puts him in the police car. Ziglar says the handcuffs are tight, and the officer appears to loosen them.

Ziglar also asks a neighbor to get his father inside the house, but the officer says police will take care of that.

The incident prompted Fuquay-Varina town commissioners to vote unanimously to form a committee to improve policing.

Ziglar told WRAL News last month he felt "disrespected" and "humiliated" by the experience. The Ziglar family met with police officials to discuss the incident and review the body-cam video before it was released to the public.

Ziglar's mother, Ty Ziglar, was critical of police for how the situation was handled.

"You weren't there to hear my son. You were only there to arrest him," she said. “I must take back the power that was taken from my son that day and be a voice to the mothers and fathers that felt like my son when he said to me, 'Mom, there was nothing else I could do.'”

Fuquay-Varina Police posted a statement on Facebook detailing the release of the footage.

"The purpose of sharing this video is to clearly show the community what actions were taken by the Fuquay-Varina Police Department during the investigation of the circumstances involving the stolen dirt bike," the department said.

Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne also released a statement on social media. Byrne said the officers involved "addressed the situation professionally and within policy and legal parameters" and asked that the town citizens move forward.

"It is not an uncommon procedure for an officer to detain a suspect while gathering information related to a complaint where probable cause exists," Byrne said. "In no way did the officer detain Mr. Ziglar because of race."

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