Troubling footage of an unidentified Pima County, Ariz., deputy violently arresting a 15-year-old quadruple amputee has emerged, causing an uproar.
The incident was recorded by another teen in a group home in the Tucson area in September, reports KOLD News 13.
The deputy was called in after the 15-year-old, who was abandoned by his family and is without arms or legs, kicked over a garbage can and had a verbal bust-up with a staff of the home.
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The eight-minute video begins with the deputy on top of the 15-year-old, wrestles the teen to the floor and the teen is heard shouting and swearing at the deputy. The video also shows the arrest of the 16-year-old who was filming the interaction.
Both teens were arrested on disorderly conduct charges.
“Imagine you were this boy with no limbs who just got tackled by this large man with a badge and gun and this man is now screaming in your face and he’s now threatening your friend who’s recording this whole incident,” Joel Feinman, the Pima County Public Defender, told KOLD. “Absolutely, that’s egregious.”
According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, it did not know about the incident until the footage emerged. It has begun an internal investigation into the incident
“Men with badges should not be acting this way,” Feinman said. “Men and women who do act this way should not have badges and guns.”
