MIAMI (WSVN) - A violent strike with a skateboard during a Black Lives Matter demonstration has led to a friendship between a City of Miami Police officer and the teenage protester accused of hitting him.
7News cameras captured the moment 17-year-old Michael Marshall walloped Miami Police Officer Raymon Washington in the head after the protest in downtown Miami, held back in June, spiraled into chaos.
Marshall was arrested, and Washington suffered a concussion.
Months later, the 27-year-old officer said he received an unexpected phone call.
“The attorneys reached out to me because I was a victim of a crime, said the kid wanted to speak with me, and I was like, ‘Sure,'” Washington said.
Marshall, a senior at Northwestern High School, said he wanted a chance to apologize.
“I wanted Officer Washington to feel in his heart how sorry I was and how this affected him, really hurt me and hurt him,” he said, “and I understand that what I did was wrong and how the narrative was very messed up through my point of view.”
Marshall said his plans that day were only to speak up and stand up for a cause.
“My intentions were to just spread a message, but that kind of got washed out by negativity,” he said.
The officer and the teen eventually met face to face, with a positive and productive outcome.
“It just happened, me and him just kind of clicked, and he asked for help,” said Washington, “and as a police officer, you ask me for help, I’m going to help you.”
The help came in the form of healthy conversation and sharing perspectives. Out of these exchanges, a friendship grew.
“It shined a bright light on the situation. Having that meeting with him was very eye-opening,” said Marshall. “He really helped me to understand that not everything is what it seemed.”
According to The Miami Herald, who conducted the interviews, the two remain close. The officer recently attended one of Marshall’s football games.
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