A recent incident in Charlotte, North Carolina, has ignited a fierce public debate after a 12-year-old boy, Prince Ervin, was arrested and charged with reckless driving while riding his bicycle.
A viral video captured a police officer handcuffing the boy and placing him in the back of a police cruiser. Its led to a firestorm of discussion over police conduct, juvenile justice, and bicycle traffic laws.
During the incident, officers maintained that the 12-year-old “recklessly driving” his bike was “illegal.” Officers also claimed it “doesn’t matter if they’re a kid.”
Mother said “all his innocence is just gone”
According to reports, Prince was riding with a large group of cyclists when the incident occurred. His mother, Jasmine Ervin, stated her son was traumatized by the arrest. She emphasized that he felt chased by a “big man with a car” while only a “little boy on a bike.” She insists the group ride was harmless and not gang-related.
“They absolutely did go too far. He’s 12, he’s 89 pounds,” Ervin told WBTV. “All his innocence is just gone… [CMPD] could’ve called me, they could have brought him home. They didn’t have to put him in handcuffs like that.”
However, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) defended the officer’s actions. In a public statement, police maintained that officers “acted to ensure the safety of the individual” and others on the road. They cited a pattern of “recklessly riding on a bicycle” in the area.
NC laws classify bicycles as a vehicle
Bystanders’ questions to the officers at the scene confirmed the charge as “reckless driving on a bicycle.” The charge itself stems from North Carolina law. It classifies a bicycle as a vehicle, meaning cyclists are subject to the same traffic laws as motorists, including prohibitions against reckless driving.
Reckless driving, under North Carolina General Statute §20?140(b), includes driving “without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property.”
In a statement, CMPD confirmed the arrest and said the department’s Central Division “regularly responds to reports of individuals riding bicycles in a manner that poses a danger to themselves or others.”
Arrest brings reckless driving tensions of motorists and cyclists to the forefront
This particular arrest has brought to the forefront the long-standing tension between cyclists, especially large groups of youth riders, and motorists in the Charlotte area.
Residents have frequently expressed frustration over groups of bikers allegedly swerving into traffic. They also accuse bike riders of playing “chicken” with cars, and generally disregarding road safety, leading to a call for increased police intervention.
This history provides context for the police department’s firm response, but the use of handcuffs and formal arrest for a 12-year-old on a bicycle is excessive, particularly for a juvenile offense.
For the Ervin family, the consequences are more than just legal. Prince’s mother worries about the lasting emotional toll of the experience on her son’s “innocence.”
“He’s a child,” Jasmine Ervin said. “He’s a little Black boy. He is mine, and he is somebody, and that’s what I want these people to know. They’re not going to do my son like that, because that’s not okay. He’s not an animal.”
The case, which is ongoing and involves a minor, highlights the complex challenge of managing public safety on city streets while ensuring a proportional and age-appropriate response from law enforcement towards children.
It forces communities to grapple with the question of whether a charge designed for motor vehicle operators is appropriate for a bicycle, and at what point youthful recklessness crosses the line into a criminal offense that warrants a full arrest.
CMPD says the case is an active investigation. Ervin says she spoke with CMPD’s Internal Affairs Department on Thursday.
And if this was a caucasian 12 year old boy? I think we all know how this would have gone…