Delaware
Delaware trooper suspended for allegedly beating 15-year-old who ding-dong ditched his house
A Delaware state trooper has been suspended for allegedly beating a 15-year-old boy to a pulp after the teen ding-dong ditched his home.
The teenager, named Jayden, suffered a broken orbital bone around his eye — which will require surgery — as well as a concussion and cuts and bruises after his parents say an innocent adolescent prank was blown way out of proportion.
“There’s bruises all over his body, on his shoulder. There’s bruises on his chest, there’s bruises on the back of his neck,” the family’s attorney, Samuel Davis, told WPVI.
The teenager’s face was swollen with visible bruising over his right eye and cheek, a photo provided to the outlet shows.
Jayden and three of his friends were playing ding-dong ditch — ringing people’s doorbells and running away — in Wilmington on Monday when they pushed the bell of a state trooper, according to this family.
About 45 minutes later, the trooper and his partner tracked down the kids and aggressively arrested the group of boys.
“[Jayden] was roughed up on the ground while handcuffed, and he was given a blind haymaker punch by a state trooper while he was shining a flashlight into his eyes,” Davis said.
The boys were cuffed and detained but none of them were charged with a crime.
The troopers were wearing their department-issued body cameras at the time and Delaware State Police are reviewing the footage, DSP told WPVI in a statement.
The officer accused of assault, who has not been identified, has been suspended as officials investigate the incident.
The trooper’s partner is also under investigation for their actions, or lack thereof, during this situation.