Lansing Cops In Hot Water After Arresting 12 Year Old Black BoyFor Taking Out The Trash

Shocking footage captured the moment a 12-year-old black boy was handcuffed and hauled into a cop car after police mistook him for a suspect in a spate of car thefts.

Tashawn Bernard was taking out the trash on Thursday outside his home in Lansing, Michigan when he was confronted by a police officer brandishing a gun, who believed the boy was a thief who fled on foot earlier that day.

A stunned onlooker began filming the detention as at least four officers and a fleet of vehicles descended on the parking lot outside the schoolboy's home, and watched as his father Michael berated cops for 'traumatizing' his son.

Officials say Tashawn matched the description of a suspect in neon green shorts and white shirt, however his family's attorney reportedly disputed this and said he was wearing a grey shirt.

The video sparked fierce backlash that led the town's embarrassed police department and mayor to issue multiple statements of regret and explanation.

The Bernard family's attorneys, Rico and Ayanna Neal, said the 12-year-old has been left so distressed by the ordeal he now 'does not want to go outside... even to get the mail.'