Police officers have arrested a teen boy with epilepsy after his family called 911 following a seizure that caused the 16-year-old to collapse.
As Lourdes Ponce, the teen’s mum, revealed, the emergency services sent cops rather than an ambulance after she called 911 and asked for medical help.
According to the upset mother, the police have arrested and handcuffed her son when they arrived at the fast-food restaurant where the boy collapsed.
In the footage taken by the family, Ponce was heard explaining to the officers that her son with autism suffered a seizure.
“I stood outside the door, I heard him hit the floor, I tried to open the door but it was locked, that’s when I asked for help,” she said in an interview with ABC 30 Action News.
“We called paramedics for help, we did not call police. He was not hurting anybody, he was having a seizure.”
According to the family’s report, the police officers continued to harass the boy even after explaining to them that he didn’t attack them.
Eventually, the boy threw up and was put at risk of choking due to the officers pinning him to the ground.
“He saw that my son was throwing up and instead of helping him so that he wouldn’t choke on his vomit, they had him on the ground in handcuffs,” the worried mum added.
“After I showed the paperwork, EMS was able to treat him and take him to the hospital.”
After the boy was finally taken to the hospital for treatment, the police have paid him another visit to issue the certificate of release indicating that he wouldn’t be arrested.
After the incident went viral and people demanded justice for what some referred to as police violence, the Fresno Police Department has issued the following statement to Action News:
“This case is currently under Administrative Review. The review will include the examination of all the information pertaining to the officer’s contact including Body Worn Cameras.”
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