Police defend handcuffing 11-year-old twins at gunpoint

A police department is investigating after officers handcuffed 11-year-old twins and a 17-year-old family friend at gunpoint while responding to a report of juveniles with a handgun.

The Grand Rapids Press posted police body camera footage of the August 26 encounter along a street in the Michigan city.

Each boy was handcuffed and searched. All of the boys were later released without being charged.

Grand Rapids police chief David Rahinsky said officers followed department policy on interacting with youth and that “when the allegation is someone has a firearm, the response has to be appropriate”.

Mr Rahinsky also said the handcuffs were removed when no gun was found and that a grandfather was contacted.

Juanita Ligon, the mother of the twins, claims that her boys were racially profiled. All three boys are black.