Delaware state trooper suspended over accusations of beating teen playing ding-dong ditch
WILMINGTON, Del. – A Delaware State Police trooper has been suspended pending an investigation into claims a teenaged boy was assaulted after targeting a trooper's home during a game of ding-dong ditch.
The accusations were originally shared on Facebook Tuesday, where a woman posted photos and a description claiming her nephew was assaulted by a trooper.
In the post, the woman – who said she wrote it on behalf of her sister – said her 15-year-old nephew and his friends were pranking residents with "ding-dong ditch" before the reported assault occurred. It's not exactly clear where the teens were playing the game, in which kids run up to a person's home and ring the doorbell, then "ditch" before someone answers.
The prank has been performed by kids, usually pre-teens and teens, for decades.
According to the woman, the boys unknowingly targeted a home owned by a state trooper. He "was not home at the time, but he was made aware by other family members in the home," she wrote.
Ring footage, the post said, showed the boys knock on the door and run off.
The woman claimed as the boys walked home, two troopers stopped them. The teens were not carrying weapons, she said, emphasizing in the post the word "unarmed."
"The two state troopers arrested my nephews [sic] friends, then beat the living hell out of nephew," the post said. "My nephew currently has a concussion, needs surgery to repair severe eye damage (as the cops stomped on him and kicked him multiple times)."
She added that he is "covered in bruises, scrapes and scratches up and down his entire body."
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"I assume that their senses kicked in and they did call an ambulance," she said before claiming that her nephew's mother wasn't told "of the beating that occurred."
"Internal Affairs and Detectives are currently involved, but refuse to share any information with my sister regarding the two state troopers who ASSULTED [sic] AND ALMOST KILLED my fifteen-year-old nephew," the post said. "All four boys have consistent stories about the events that occurred last night and any false reporting by any local news outlets about this being an attempted break in by juveniles is completely false."
Since the post was made on Tuesday, it's garnered more than 500 shares and several hundred comments. It wasn't until midday Wednesday, however, that state police publicly commented on it.
Family attorney details incident
According to the family's attorney, Samuel Davis of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon P.C., the group of three 15-year-olds were walking home after hanging out at a friend's house about 45 minutes after the prank when they were approached by police.
Davis said the trooper pulled up behind the boys with his lights on and instructed them to lie down on the ground. The teen, who was eventually hospitalized with a broken orbital bone and concussion, was then handcuffed and pushed face down on the concrete, where the trooper put his knee on the teen's neck.
When the teen was in the backseat of the police vehicle with his hands cuffed, a trooper used one hand to shine a light in his eyes and another to "hit him with a haymaker" punch, Davis said.
Davis said the boys were then taken not to a police station, but the parking lot of a hardware store, where another trooper eventually arrived and said the boy's injuries warranted a trip to the hospital.
The teen's mother was not contacted until at least an hour after the event, Davis said, when she was told over the phone simply that her son was in the hospital and she needed to come see him. Davis said the family has requested access to the bodycam and dashboard cam footage that captured the incident.
"We believe that the truth is going to come out in short order," said Davis. "The family wants the truth, and they want this trooper or troopers to be held accountable for these violent acts."
The Delaware Department of Justice, state attorney general and Delaware State Police did not immediately respond to request for comment on these specific accusations.
What state police are doing
The Delaware State Police said, in a post on X, it "became aware of the incident through an internal body-worn camera review" on Tuesday and "immediately" initiated an investigation in conjunction with the Delaware Department of Justice and the agency's office of professional responsibility.
The trooper accused of assault has been suspended, the agency said. Police would not say whether it was with or without pay.
The statement also said another department employee present at the time is being investigated for their involvement.
Notably, the message was posted on X and the state police Facebook page only on Wednesday afternoon − police did not issue a press release via email or through their website's newsroom page.
When asked by Delaware Online/The News Journal, part of the Paste BN Network, state police spokesperson Sgt. India Sturgis said the agency "responded to a social media post by using our social media channels."
"This ongoing investigation is in collaboration with the Department of Justice, so we don't have the information that would typically be in a news release," Sturgis said. "Our goal is to let the public know that we are aware of the incident and that we took immediate action by suspending the trooper."
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State police said in the social media post that it is also investigating "whether or not there was any failure to intervene by other DSP personnel who were present at the time of the incident."
"We assure you a comprehensive investigation is underway and we are examining all available evidence," the statement reads.