A shocking video showing a smiling White police officer in Chicago threatening to shoot a Black teen if he starts to run is circulating online. The footage is recorded from the perspective of the Black teen, who is with two other friends stood outside of an apartment complex. As the officer smiles, he states, “Start running, I’m gonna shoot ya” while placing his hand on his gun holster.
The beginning of the footage — as reported by Atlanta Black Star — sees the three Black youths standing together, with the police officer approaching, asking them to “Put their hands together.” It’s unclear why the teens have been targeted, specifically. Initially, he appears to lunge at one of the teens, but they take a few steps back and dodge him. It’s at this point where the officer smiles and threatens, “Start running, I’m gonna shoot ya.” with handcuffs in one hand, while his other hand is placed on his gun holster. He then taunts them, saying, “Start running. Start running.” with a big grin on his face.
“I just got you on camera saying you’re gonna shoot–” responds the cameraman, though the officer goes to lunge at him again. The footage then cuts to a few moments later and the officer is in the distance, following the youths. “Come on, I got your a*s on camera. You gonna say you was gonna do what? Shoot me?” To this, the smiling officer states, “Yeah. I will.” and starts to chase the cameraman.
The teen is a little bit faster than the police official, and the officer stops his pursuit and nonchalantly goes to walk away. The cameraman does start to taunt the officer, saying, “Fat a*s can’t even run. Like my dead grandma. You can’t even f*cking run. So shoot me if I run? I just ran?” with the officer responding, “You ain’t even worth it.” With tempers rising, the teen even says, “Pull your gun out. Pull your gun out! Pull it out!” The officer then lunges at the teen again and the camera shakes for a few moments, but he does back off again.
More police officers finally arrive on the scene, and the teen begins demanding their badge numbers, though the police officer ends up arresting the youth. At the time of writing, the reason for the arrest remains unclear.
As expected, social media users flooded the comment section due to the shocking nature of the clip. One user on Instagram chimed in, writing, “His name is officer Jeffrey Gordon Frahm and heโs already had 23 allegations filed against him, 27 excessive force reports and so far heโs costed the city over 270K with his antics” while another declared, “an heโs so proud & smiling . Itโs scarey . Weโre always forever targets & hated . By them“. Elsewhere, a third person added, “Arrested for asking for a badge number? Really??” while another penned, “Their so comfortable abusing positions“.
As the video continues to circulate online, it serves as a timely reminder of the importance of accountability, particularly in Black communities, where a long history of over-policing, racial profiling, and excessive use of force has deeply eroded trust.
