Cop breaks Autistic teens arm pepper sprays his dog

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A Topeka, Kansas, police officer forced a 14-year-old boy with autism to the ground, fracturing his wrist, and pepper-spraying his dog during an arrest.

The officer, later identified as David Ziegler, responded to a call on September 19 about a teenage male riding his bike through the neighborhood without a leash for his dog, according to the Topeka Police Department. After the boy allegedly ignored the officer several times, Ziegler tried to handcuff him, but the boy resisted. According to the teen’s account, the officer then took him to the ground and placed his knee on the boy’s head and then on his back.

The boy was later taken to the local hospital and was given a cast for a fractured wrist.

Three days later, the city’s Independent Police Auditor, Ed Collazo, opened an investigation into the incident. On Tuesday, he published a 16-page report outlining his findings and determined that while the officer had followed police department procedure when using force to place the boy under arrest, his actions were concerning.

The officer told the city auditor that he only took the teen down after spotting two adults, one of whom was the boy’s mom, approach him during the arrest.

“In that moment it was essential that I take custody of juvenile as quickly as possible due to my inability to call for assistance earlier, the presence of his dog that had acted aggressively towards me, and that now two unknown people who appeared to know (the child) were approaching us on foot,” he said, according to the auditor’s report. “Forcing the juvenile to the ground at that moment was the fastest way to place him in handcuffs so I could address the other potential threats on scene and call for assistance.”

While Collazo said that the officer’s actions were justified, he recommended that the Topeka Police Department force Ziegler to get a refresher on de-escalation training.