According to reports, the teenager, identified by NBC affiliate KCRA of Sacramento as just Daniel, was pulled over on July 22 by Sacramento police for not having a light on his bicycle at 10 p.m. in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood in northeast Sacramento. The officer was having a conversation with the teen before the teen took off running, according to reports. The officer then proceeded to chase the teenager on foot, according to officials, and a second police SUV was called to assist the officer in tracking down the cyclist.
In the video footage, the officer driving the SUV is seen taking a left turn and then driving into Daniel as he is running down the sidewalk, causing the teen to be thrown into the air onto and then off the side of the hood. In the video, bystanders can be heard yelling "Why did you hit him?" and "Now I see why y'all get killed."
After the collision, the officer driving the SUV exits the vehicle and handcuffs Daniel, who can be heard cursing and then yelling "I'm sorry" repeatedly.
"Clearly, this collision could have been tragic," Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in a statement Friday, according to NBC News.
"I am grateful the young man was not more seriously injured and that no one else was injured. Our training is designed to prevent this sort of thing from happening. We are going to make sure our training — and the officers' adherence to that training — is as solid as it can be."
"This is something that, you know what I mean, shouldn't have took place," Lavar Washington, a member of the victim's family, told Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV last week.
The police department has stated that the incident was an accident that occurred due to understeer, which is when a car loses traction. They say the vehicle did not turn correctly.
"Ultimately the investigation has shown that the collision was unintended," Allen said in recent video released by the department. "Due to the speed that the turn was initiated at, the officer lost control of the patrol vehicle and began to understeer. The officer did not regain control of the vehicle until moments before, or at the time the patrol vehicle came to a stop after the collision had already occurred."
According to reports, an ambulance arrived 10 minutes after the incident.
"There was a short delay in the response in the medical aid due to the officers having to facilitate the safe ingress of medical personnel and the egress with the suspect. This delay was due to officers having to maintain scene security due to a large crowd that had gathered," police spokesperson James Allen stated, ABC News reported Sunday.
Once Daniel was released from the hospital two hours after the collision, the teen was given a citation by police for resisting arrest.
In an email to NBC News Saturday, a police spokesperson said that the officer involved in the crash is not on leave. "This still remains on ongoing investigation," the spokesperson wrote.
