Whether you are white, black, brown, red or yellow, it is bad idea for a lone unarmed person to mouth off to a group of people who have guns, night sticks, handcuffs and badges. It is 360 degrees of stupid every time no matter what the circumstances. If you find yourself in a bad situation, doing that is only going to make it worse.
The kid likely was belligerent and/or uncooperative. The ABC faux cops likely over-reacted.