On June 14, 2026, 16 year old Jeremiah Spearman was stopped and detained by Battle Creek police while walking home. Officers claimed his behavior was โnot normal.โ
He wasnโt running. He wasnโt threatening anyone. He wasnโt committing a crime. He was walking home.
This is the reality many Black families live with. These kinds of โmistakesโ have already cost too many of our young people their lives, when law enforcement or those who see themselves as enforcers act on suspicion while a Black child is simply walking through their own neighborhood. We saw it with Trayvon Martin.
One question worth asking is how often this happens to minors who arenโt Black or Brown?
His name is Jeremiah Spearman. He was just walking home.