"He's reaching for a weapon. Stop resisting."
Austin was not resisting. He was 17 years old, face down in the grass of a public park with a police officer on top of him, and the pain from the impact was sharp enough that he cried out.
Chloe screamed. "Stop it! Stop! He has a phone. He didn't do anything. Get off him!"
Dempsey pulled Austin's arms behind his back while Austin's voice came out strained and urgent from the ground. "I'm 17 years old. I didn't do anything. I was reaching for my phone."
Dempsey clicked the handcuffs onto Austin's wrists with Austin still face down in the grass. Chloe had already pulled out her own phone and was dialing 911 with shaking hands.
When the dispatcher answered, Chloe's voice came through breathless and tearful. "A police officer just tackled my boyfriend, and he's arresting him, and my boyfriend didn't do anything. He's 17. Please send someone. We're in Riverside Park on the east side near the fountain."
Dempsey stood Austin up and started walking him toward his cruiser. Austin kept saying the same things with the desperation of someone who genuinely could not understand why this was happening to him.