TPD accused of excessive force in teen's arrest

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With a tug and a swing, a 15-year-old skateboarder and a Tampa police officer tumble to the ground hard.
The video of the incident was posted to Instagram Sunday by an account called CrustyMayo, moderated by a group of Bay Area skaters.

The kid in the video is Jason Huber. He's clearly shaken up by the way he was treated by the cops.  Fellow skaters agreed, saying the officer's actions crossed the line.

"I thought it was inappropriate behavior by a cop," said Charles Munroe.

"No adult should lay their hands on a child like that and slam them on the ground," said Mason Starcovic.

The post said the kids had permission to skate in the downtown business district; a claim TPD disputes.

"There's an ordinance against skateboarding downtown. I don't know who they were talking to. You don't have permission to break the law," said police spokesperson Steve Hegarty.

The biggest claims of 'excessive force' are strongly denied by TPD. Instead, it is pointing the blame at Huber.

"What you saw in the video was a classic case of resisting arrest, and then things going bad from there, where both fell down. If a police officer says that your breaking the law, first stop doing that. That didn't happen," Hegarty said.

Officials also said the kids were warned earlier about the illegal skateboarding. 

Huber was charged with resisting arrest without violence, and skateboarding in the downtown business district. He declined an interview for this story.