Kierra Johnson, 19, speaks out about "thug cycle" viral video of son.
The mother of a toddler who is shown cursing in a viral video has made some unsettling comments in regards to her son's behavior. "Kids curse, every kid does it," Kierra Johnson, 19, said in a recent interview with KETV.
"He's a smart little boy. All that cussing that he did, he doesn't do that," she also said. "Somebody told him to do that. My son doesn't do that. I don't allow it." Johnson said her brother's friend filmed and posted it. The young boy is shown yelling, “b---- a—n-----“ in the video.
The toddler and three other children were taken from Johnson's care Thursday and brought into protective custody after officials say the teen continued to allow gang members into their Omaha, Nebraska, home. "Everybody that thinks I'm a bad mother, I'm not. I'm a good mother to my son. I teach him a lot. He's very smart," Johnson continued in an interview.
The toddler was also shot a few months ago. In December, his grandmother was arrested on weapons charges, according to KETV.
At the same time, the Omaha Police Department has been under fire for using the video to make racial-charged remarks on their Facebook page. They called it a "terrible cycle of violence and thuggery that some young innocent children find themselves helplessly trapped in." These controversial remarks have only further divided the community and police in Omaha.
In a statement, Becki Brenner, the executive director of the Nebraska American Civil Liberties Union, said, "The manner in which the officers association has discussed this incident has done nothing but further erode community trust and reinforce the need for independent oversight, trainings and other reforms.”
