OCEAN CITY, Md. — Black leaders in Maryland are threatening a boycott of Ocean City, Maryland after viral videos have raised the alarm about policing in the state’s premiere resort town.
"Maybe we shouldn't spend our money in Ocean City," said NAACP Maryland State Conference President Willie Flowers in Annapolis Monday.
Flowers and other leaders gathered to denounce the actions of Ocean City police seen in viral videos after controversial arrests were made on June 6 and June 12.
Videos of the incident show the use of a taser and an officer ramming his knee into a person on the ground multiple times while three other officers are holding him down.
Police say the encounters turned violent as they attempted to enforce a ban on vaping on Ocean City's Boardwalk.
In an exclusive interview with WUSA9, an 18-year-old man who was tasered by police said he believes race was a factor in his encounter.
"What about the 50 other kids who are vaping and walking down the boardwalk, and they're white kids and they're not saying nothing to them but they choose to say something to me because of the color of my skin," said Taizier Griffin.
Baltimore civil rights attorney Billy Murphy pointed out that the encounters that turned violent started over an offense that is not arrestable.
Murphy promised legal accountability.
"I've been asked 'why do the police keep doing this knowing that they're going to be on video camera and the subject of national outrage and protest,'" Murphy said.
"That's how deep the culture is. They just can't seem to help themselves, it is so deep. Well, we're going to help. We're going to file every possible legal action against them that the law permits."
Ocean City’s mayor and police chief have promised an internal review of officers conduct in the incidents.
Black leaders said that response falls far too short.
Maryland's State Conference of the NAACP is calling for the suspension of the officer's involved and a full investigation with civilian oversight.
The Conference is also demanding that Ocean City immediately require officers to wear body cameras before a state mandate takes effect in 2025.
Neither Ocean City's mayor nor its police chief immediately responded to WUSA9s request for comment in the wake of the NAACP's statements Wednesday.