Editor’s note: Updated 12/26/27 6:25 p.m. to include additional text from original police statement.

Troy police say “reasonable and necessary force” was used in an incident that sent a 17-year-old male to a Birmingham hospital on Sunday.

Troy police have not yet identified the subject in the case and have called on the State Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own independent investigation into the case.

Troy Police Chief Randall Barr said the incident began after officers observed the 17-year-old male walking out from behind a closed business downtown at approximately 11:52 p.m. Saturday.

“Officers approached the subject and as they exited their patrol car, he fled on foot,” Barr said.

Barr said officers pursued the subject on foot to Madison Street. “Officers were able to apprehend the suspect on Madison Street, but he resisted arrest and refused to comply with commands from the officers to place his hands behind his back,” Barr said.

“The subject continued to struggle with officers and kept reaching toward his waistband as if he was attempting to access a weapon, all while repeatedly ignoring officers’ commands to stop resisting and give them his hands.”

It was then that Barr says officers resorted to physical force, which he called “reasonable and necessary.”

The teen was taken to Troy Regional Medical Center and then on to University of Alabama Birmingham, where he remained hospitalized on Sunday. Photographs circulated on social media showed the teen with a severely swollen and bruised face.

Barr said officers retraced the path taken during the pursuit and found a handgun lying on the ground, which has now been taken in as evidence.

The suspect was charged with obstruction of governmental operations and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing and the story will be updated as more information is released.

The Messenger’s attempts to contact the family have been unsuccessful.