A family in Troy, AL wants to know why police kicked and punched their handcuffed 17-year-old son and left him with a shattered eye socket and swelling and trauma to his brain, said BuzzFeed News.

Ulysses Wilkerson’s father Sadot Wilkerson posted on Facebook, “As y’all can can see troy police officers tried to kill my son he has massive swelling and they can’t start surgery until swelling goes down need help with lawyer names and numbers justice for my son love you.”

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Images of the teen boy’s battered, swollen face were shared on social media thousands of times as members of the public have joined the teen’s family in demanding justice.

“From all over the world, people are commenting they want justice,” said the Sadot Wilkerson to WKRG News.

BuzzFeed said that police officers claim they saw Ulysses Wilkerson walking behind a closed business late Saturday night in downtown Troy. When officers exited their vehicle, the boy reportedly ran away. Police chased him and a struggle took place two blocks away.

The town’s police chief has requested an investigation into his officers’ use of force. Meanwhile, the police department is directing media inquiries to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

The ABI confirmed in a statement that Wilkerson was arrested at 11:52 p.m. on Saturday and that the boy was seriously injured. He was transported to Troy Regional Medical Center and from there he was transported to University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

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Officers say that when they later returned to the scene of the beating, they found a discarded handgun they believe to be Wilkerson’s. Police say that the teenager refused to comply with their orders and reached behind his back as if to retrieve a weapon.

“Troy police officers did this to my son while he was in handcuffs,” wrote Ulysses’ Wilkeson’s mother Angela Williams. “Sh*t happening in Troy, Alabama now.”

Watch video about this story, embedded below:

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View Sadot Wilkerson’s and Angela Williams’ Facebook posts, embedded below: