Delaware State Trooper suspended amid claims of assaulting teen
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, Del. (CBS) -- A Delaware State Trooper was suspended after claims emerged on social media of the trooper assaulting a teenager, police said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a Facebook by the aunt of the teen allegedly assaulted on Monday, the woman wrote her nephew and his three friends played ding-dong ditch and did the prank at the home of a Delaware State Trooper. The post has been shared nearly 600 times.
The woman wrote the trooper wasn't home at the time, but he was made aware by other family members in the home. She also claims in the post Ring camera footage shows the boys knocked on the door and ran off.
As the boys were walking home, they were stopped by two state troopers, the woman wrote.
The boys, who were unarmed according to the aunt, were then arrested and then troopers "beat the living hell" out of her nephew, the post says.
The aunt wrote that her nephew has a concussion, needs surgery to repair severe eye damage, and has scraps, bruises and scratches up his entire body. She says the state troopers "stomped on him and kicked him multiple times."
The post says the mother of the teenager was not notified of the beating, and that police "refuse to share any information with my sister."
— Delaware State Police (@DEStatePolice) August 23, 2023
"This will not stay hidden by the Delaware State Police. We will not allow my nephew to be another statistic of police brutality and men/women who feel that they are superior to those around them. "Protect and Serve" seems to only matter when you're protecting your own," part of the post read.
Delaware State Police claims they learned of the incident through an internal body-worn camera review on Tuesday. State Police say they immediately launched an investigation with the Department of Justice and the Office of Professional Responsilbity.
DSP is also investigating whether or not there was any "failure to intervene by other DSP personnell who were presdent at the time of the incident."
"We assure you that a comprehensive investigation is underway and we are examining all available evidence," DSP wrote in a statement. "At our core, the Delaware State Police values our community's trust, and we will provide additional details as we are able."