Delaware Trooper charged with assault in prank gone wrong

[yuna628 9,671]

Sometime in August Trooper Dempsey Walters, got into an argument with a 17 year old who he accused of wrongdoing (he was in fact not charged with wrongdoing), who was then escorted back to his parent's home. Later on that month, a group of teenagers that don't seem to be related, approached Walter's home to do a ''ding dong ditch'' prank. A 15 year old kicked the officer's front door and ran away. It seems that Walters appeared to initially believe that this prank was related to the 17 year old, so he went to his house with other officers to arrest him with enough force to injure him. While they did not formerly arrest him, he was certainly detained when he had nothing to do with the prank. 

 

When the 15 year old was eventually arrested, Walters kneeled on him and later beat the handcuffed subject in the face, breaking bones, all while turning off his police camera. He was unaware that even when his camera was turned off, it still recorded long enough to provide footage to investigators. He had initially called this in as an attempted break-in, which caused the department to use helicopter and K9 resources. Video footage showed that the teens were not breaking in at all.

 

https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-trooper-charged-assault-teenagers-ding-dong-ditch-prank/

 

Quote

Walters knew that a teenager whom he had argued with and briefly detained a few days earlier lived on Taft Avenue. So he and a Newport officer knocked on that kids’ door, and the teenager answered.

Walters “forcibly” pulled him outside, and “forced him onto the ground,’’ causing unspecified injuries, the indictment said.

Then Walters handcuffed the youth and detained him in the back of a police vehicle. The teen was later released without being charged.

Walters started to head home but was informed that another trooper had found the youth who had kicked the door, and his two friends. When Walters arrived at the scene, the 15-year-old was “face down on the ground’’ as the trooper “struggled’’ to handcuff him behind his back.

Instead of observing, however, Walters “almost immediately’’ struck the teen “in the back of the neck/head with his knee,’’ injuring him, the indictment said.

The teen was eventually handcuffed, and put in the other trooper’s cruiser. While that was occurring, Walters “turned off his body-worn camera,’’ walked to the vehicle, and punched the handcuffed teen “in the right side of his face, causing an orbital fracture.’’ The orbital bone is commonly referred to as the eye socket.

Then, Walters walked around the vehicle and turned his camera back on. But the punch had already been recorded, with the youth screaming in pain afterward.

 

This event is just one of the numerous cases of officers doing bad things in Delaware, and it has been plagued by numerous corruption scandals, and events such as a man who was left beaten and robbed in a park while police officers literally across the street, refused to respond or send 911 assistance.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2023/09/26/delaware-state-police-trooper-dempsey-walters-charged-teen-assault-prank/70963993007/

Edited September 27, 2023 by yuna628

[TBoneTX 45,259]

8 hours ago, yuna628 said:

This event is just one of the numerous cases of officers doing bad things in Delaware

It stinks that bad apples are around, and that this behavior and corruption are tolerated.

[TBoneTX 45,259]

Nowhere in the WHYY story does it mention the race of the trooper or the teenagers.  Isn't that all that matters?