Philadelphia Pays $2 Million After Police Beat Black Mother In Front Of Son

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Nearly a year after police pulled Philadelphia resident Rickia Young from her car and beat her in front of her 2-year-old son, she has received a $2 million settlement from the city.

“I hope that the officers responsible will never have the chance to do something like this to another person ever again,” Young said during a press conference.

According to USA Today, Young was driving through West Philadelphia with her 16-year-old nephew and son when she encountered a standoff between cops and those protesting the death of Walter Wallace Jr. With the street blocked off, the young mother attempted to turn around, but she was stopped by police anyway. From there, officers smashed the car windows and pulled Young and her nephew out of the vehicle. The two were then beaten on the street and left with "significant injuries."

Making matters worse, the Fraternal Order of Police posted a picture of an officer with the 2-year-old boy and included a caption that insinuated he was rescued from danger.

“This child was lost during the violent riots in Philadelphia, wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness,” the post read, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“The only thing this Philadelphia police officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child.”

After Young and others raised issues with how the FOP portrayed the beating, the police union took the post down because they had received "conflicting accounts of the circumstances under which the child came to be assisted by the officer."

"They’re attempting to erase what happened — police brutality — and turn it instead into police saviorism," attorney Riley Ross said.

"It's another deep wound that they cut."

The two officers involved in the incident were reportedly fired in May following an internal investigation. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that those officers "violated the mission of the Philadelphia Police Department" and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called it “absolutely appalling."

"The officers’ inexcusable actions that evening prompted an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident and for personnel to be disciplined and held accountable for their egregious conduct," Kenney said in a statement obtained by USA Today.

“I hope that the settlement and investigations into the officers’ actions bring some measure of closure to Ms. Young and her family.”

Reading about Black trauma can have an impact on your mental health. If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available: 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264

The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001

For more mental health resources, click HERE

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