When police point guns at children, they don’t just risk physical harm – they inflict lifelong trauma. As federal judge Roderick C. Young recently warned, “Any time a gun is presented like that, that changes the whole dynamic of the interaction.”
That’s why what happened to a 15-year-old Frederick County child, identified here by the pseudonym “Callum” is so devastating. And it’s why we are urging Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins to act now to prevent this from recurring. We invite community members to join us.
During the pre-dawn hours of May 25, Callum was conducting a Memorial Day vigil with his Boy Scout troop in tribute to fallen service members, patrolling a Field of Honor with American flags at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. At about 4 am, two Frederick deputies rushed out of the darkness at Callum, screaming “GET ON THE F***ING GROUND!” Body-worn camera shows one brandishing a handgun while the other pointed a rifle with a flashlight directly at the scout.
Terrified, Callum slowly lowered himself cross legged to the ground, hands raised, remaining as calm and composed as he could to avoid escalating the officers’ fury.
The deputies' justification for their frightening assault? Callum is Black and young.
