'Law enforcement-sponsored torture': Families of battered teens demand justice in Delaware
WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Families of two teenagers who were brutalized by a Delaware state trooper in August are demanding answers and justice.
"The fact that this happened to my son, I'm angry. That officer came to my house with malicious intent," said Chavaun Harris, the mother of 17-year-old Al, who was injured by a state trooper.
She said Al was playing video games on August 21 at her home in Elsmere when police came to his door. What happened next changed his life and was caught on body camera video. The teen was yanked from his home and forced to the ground causing him to be injured.
SEE ALSO: Delaware trooper facing felony charges involving assaults on teens after doorbell prank at his house
Delaware's Attorney General Kathy Jennings said Al was the second teen attacked that night by Trooper Dempsey Walters.
"I want him held accountable for his actions, and I don't want to see that happen to nobody else," said Harris.
The night started with an unrelated prank. A 15-year-old identified as Jayden, went up to the trooper's home in Elsmere and kicked his door and ran away. The prank was caught on a doorbell camera.
Trooper Walter then called other police departments to help find the teen responsible. The trooper went to Al's home because, according to investigators, he had had an issue with the teen days earlier and looked up his address.
But when Trooper Walters learned the 15-year-old who kicked his door was found, he drove over to that location and allegedly attacked him as well. Body cam video shows him drop a knee to his back while on the ground. Then he turned off his body cam, and investigators say, punched the child with such force it broke his orbital bone.
The injury required an eight-hour surgery to repair, and he still has problems.
"Jayden just went back to school last week. But he is still recovering from headaches, so he's in and out of the nurse's office daily," said Erica Murphy, his mother.
On Thursday, attorneys for the family wanted to know why so many officers responded to the prank. They believe as many as 25 helped out, plus a helicopter.
"Both of these boys feared for their lives," said Samuel Davis, who represents the families. "That is just law enforcement-sponsored torture."
Trooper Walters is charged with several felonies, including deprivation of civil rights. He is suspended without pay.
