12-year-old boy says he was ordered into police car while walking home from school

After being dropped off by a school bus in his Reese Road neighborhood two weeks ago, 12-year-old Corey Jones began walking to a friend’s house.

While near the Circle K at the intersection of Macon and Reese roads, Corey said, he was stopped by a Columbus Police officer who asked where he lived and where he was going. The boy said he told the officer he was headed to a friend’s house to call his stepfather. The officer then asked for his mother’s number, and told him to get in the back seat of the police cruiser.

“I told him I could just walk to my friend’s house, and then he told me, ‘No, you’re gonna get in my car,’” the Fort Middle School student said during an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer. “Later on, he had left my mama a voice mail, and then he finally opened his door. ... He asked me do I know why I’m in his car right now, and then I had said, ‘No.’ He said because it’s his job to protect us, make sure we weren’t kidnapped.”

“I felt frightened because it was hard seats and like a cage in front of me, where they got the police in front and criminals in back,” said the boy, who says the officer released him from the car a few minutes later.

Jones’ mother and stepfather — Ruby Jones and Derrick Colson — said they are outraged by the actions of the officer, identified as Brandon Lee. They said the boy was treated like a criminal while innocently walking in his neighborhood. Colson said when Corey came home and told him the story, he immediately called 911 to find out what happened. An officer came to the home at about 8:30 p.m. to explain.

Colson said it was unnecessary to place the boy in the back seat of the car where criminals are transported.

“It’s uncalled for,” he said. “ I, myself, want Officer Lee arrested and brought down here for false imprisonment and unlawful detainment.”

Antonio Carter, a family friend and local activist, said he plans to address the issue Tuesday at a 5:30 p.m. Columbus Council meeting.

“First of all, nobody has reported Corey missing,” he said. “This is the neighborhood that Corey lives in — his grandmother lives on one side, his father and mother live on the other. ... It’s 4:30 in the afternoon, which is the time that children get out of school, and also the time that children roam and play. So the officer has no legitimate reason for even stopping Corey.”

On June 2, he messaged friends on Facebook the following statement with Corey’s photo: “Will be going before Columbus Council on Tuesday to speak on behalf of this little 12 year old Brother ... Corey was traumatized by a Columbus, Georgia Police Officer, who works under the direction of Ricky Boren and Teresa (Tomlinson)! Please stand with us ... For those of you that believe we should just stay silent and not say a word, stay at home and hush in the process!”

Mayor Teresa Tomlinson said Lee, the officer, stopped Corey because the boy was at a busy intersection and he was concerned about his safety. She said the incident occurred May 22, which was Lee’s last day working for the police department. She said the officer had submitted his resignation two weeks prior and has relocated to California to attend law school.

She said the officer thought Corey looked younger than 12, and called his shift commander to find out what he should do. After learning the boy’s age, the shift commander recommended that he be released. So the officer took the boy back where he found him, she said.

“It’s not unusual for a police officer to stop a young person some place where they think that they look out of place,” she said. “... The young man was stopped because he was on a busy road — Macon Road — in the afternoon and looked to be young. And so the police officer stopped him, did ask him to get into the back of the car, which does not violate our policy in any way, and did ask some questions about where he was going and how old he was.

“The young man is slight in stature and to a person he may look younger than 12,” she said. “... And I would say this, if anything had happened to the young man — you know, God forbid — and somebody found out that a police officer drove right by him, and he was younger, and he wasn’t in a place that was right for his particular age, people would’ve asked how a police officer drove right by a young person that should have at least stopped and asked, “How are you doing? Where are you going?”

Tomlinson said police officers are only allowed to transport people in the back seat unless it’s a vehicle used for training. She said that’s because computer consoles and tech packages take up much of the space on the passenger side, and also because of the presence of weapons there. She said the family filed a formal complaint and the police department’s Office of Professional Standard is currently investigating the case.

This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 4:48 PM with the headline "12-year-old boy says he was ordered into police car while walking home from school."