WASHINGTON, D.C. – A black Prince William County teen who receives free lunches will stand trial for “stealing” a 65-cent carton of milk from his middle school, a charge his attorney claims is a result of systemic racism.

Graham Park Middle School 14-year-old Ryan Turk was arrested by a school resource officer and charged with disorderly conduct and petit larceny after he retrieved a milk carton from the lunch line without permission, despite the fact that he receives free meals through the National School Lunch Program, WSB Radio reports.

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The resource officer, who is black, approached Turk May 10 when he witnessed the teen cut in the lunch line to grab the milk, and ordered him to the principal’s office. When the teen resisted by pulling away from the officer, he was handcuffed and slapped with the criminal charges, according to The Washington Post.

“No one needs to be punished for stealing a 65-cent carton of milk,” Turk’s lawyer, Emmett Robinson, told the news site. “This officer treats kids like they’re criminals, and guess what happens – they’re going to become criminals.”

Robinson contends the case illustrates how “systemic racism black students are treated and disciplined differently than other students in public schools, and the Post pointed to claims that black and poor students are more likely to face harsh discipline than other students.

Prince William County schools spokesman Phil Kavits pointed out that the school resource officer and principal involved in the dispute are both black.

“All the key parties involved, including the principal and the police officer, are African America,” Kavits said. “The staff members are well known in our highly diverse community for their dedication and caring approach to all students.”

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Robinson contends it’s the institutional racism, not necessarily individual employees, of public schools that perpetuates the alleged injustices against his client and other black students.

“It’s not the players, it’s not the people who discriminate; it’s the whole system,” he told the Post. “The system is set up now so that school resource officers get to determine the impact on a person’s life.”

School officials initially offered Turk a punishment that did not involve the criminal justice system, but he declined because he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong and now faces a November trial date.

“My son is not going to admit to something he did not do,” said Shamise Turk, the boy’s mother and a school district employee.

School officials contend that Turk cut in the lunch line May 10, took a carton of milk, and attempted on conceal it. When approached by the school resource officer, Turk threw the milk back and became belligerent when ordered to the principal’s office, school officials allege.

Turk, who is now a freshman in high school, contends he simply retrieved a milk from the lunch line and went back to his seat, where the resource officer got in his business. Turk said he put the milk back, but the resource officer forced him to take it to the principal by grabbing the back of his neck, to which he broke away, the Post reports.

Shamise Turk told WJLA she reviewed the surveillance video from the incident and confirmed that her son did not attempt to conceal the milk. The family contends that other, white students take milks from the lunch line all the time without problem.

“It’s just unfair,” Turk told the Post. “Other people did that. One boy, I told him to get one for me before. But when I do, I get in trouble.”

Prince William County’s NAACP branch sent Robert Stanley to a hearing in Turk’s case on Tuesday. Stanley noted that the school resource officer was set for several juvenile hearings the same day, which he suggested is evidence of the racist school system.

“Our black boys are going from high school to prison,” he said.