ATLANTA -- The 12-year-old rapper who was detained by an officer inside the Cumberland Mall is speaking out.
Corey Jackson, who also goes by Corey J. and Lil C-Note, posted a video on his Instagram page about his encounter with police Wednesday night.
"The reason I'm making this video is because of the picture that certain people are trying to paint of me," Corey J. said.
The 12-year-old was at the mall with family this weekend when he was stopped by a Cobb County Police officer who can be seen on cell phone video grabbing his arm. Police accused Corey J. of selling CDs at the mall. His family claims hew was wrongfully targeted.
A video of the incident went viral.
Officer: You’re going to the youth detention center if you don’t stop
Corey J.: So what you can do is let me go because I know my Amendments
The 12-year-old is facing felony charges. They family retained an attorney, Gerald Griggs, who is demanding for charges to be dropped.
"I think the handling of the case has been inappropriate," Griggs said. "The next step is to make contact with the district attorney’s office We’ve had prolonged conversations with the chief of police. Hopefully we can work through this case, have the charges reduced and dismissed and move forward with Corey’s life.”
"The officer said that I was very disrespectful that I was ill-mannered," he said. " You can't find anybody, do your research on me. You can't find anybody who can back that up, that can say I cursed them out, that I said bad words that day. I've never sad a bad word in my life."
Cobb County Police held a press conference Tuesday afternoon and said that video doesn't show the whole story or give context. Earlier in the month on Oct. 6, police said an officer issued the child a criminal trespass warning because the was selling CDs without permission. Officers said they warned him if he is caught back on the premises, he could be arrested.
The video picks up while the officer was in the process of confirming the previous criminal trespass warning.
"What you see on social media -- people say it's manhandling. All he was doing was holding the young man by the arm," said Cobb County Police Chief Michael Register.
"He was there as a customer," Griggs said. " Witnesses and the video show he was not selling on that occasion and that’s what the criminal trespass was actually for. It was for selling CDs.”
"You think that I would choose to pick the day in front of an officer of the law to curse him out? To try and break his finger? I've never tried to do anything of such," Corey J. explained in his Instagram video.
"My momma and daddy has never pulled me and tugged me how that officer did," he said. "Man, my armed could have been pulled out of socket. Even when I told him to let me go, I still said 'sir.'"
In his post, Corey J. also included a photo of a mark on his arm he claimed he got from the officer.
"What you can find is pictures of the bruise he left from gripping my arm so tight," he said.
A post shared by Corey J. AKA Lil C-Note (@coreyjakalilcnote) on
"I am a role model for the rest of the kids," Corey J. said.
Corey J. has caught the attention of many, including Ellen DeGeneres, when he was featured on her show.
On Wednesday, a small "Justice for Corey J." protest broke out at the Cumberland Mall. The protesters marched around and talked about the encounter. A live video posted to Facebook also showed a group holding a "sit-in" at the mall.
"It’s our hope to change this moment into a positive moment," Griggs said."And see how you can address these situations and move forward.”
