Teen Cries Out For His Mother as Police Beat Him in Shocking Video

A teenager cried out for his mother while being beaten by a Delaware State Trooper in response to a prank on his home, a shocking video shows.

Police brutality has been a staple in headlines. In fact, a 2022 Gallup poll found 45 percent of surveyed American adults are confident in the police, a 3 percent drop from the previous low of 48 percent following George Floyd's murder in 2020.

The footage shows two teenagers lying face down on the grass while handcuffed. One proceeds to scream as the officer kneels on his back and struggles to get Trooper Dempsey R. Walters to stop applying pressure to him while crying for his mother. Later in the video, Walters can be seen turning off his body cam footage, which only muted the sound recording, before punching the boy in the face as he sat in the back of a police vehicle.

On Tuesday the State of Delaware Attorney General announced Walters had been charged with two felonies, second-degree assault and deprivation of civil rights, and other misdemeanors after a series of incidents leading to him assaulting the child.

According to a statement by the Attorney General of Delaware's office, the first incident took place on August 17 when Trooper Walters, who was off duty at the time, encountered "victim one", a 17-year-old minor. This encounter escalated into a "verbal altercation", according to the statement, during which Walters contacted the Elsmere Police Department. Two officers from the department responded and took the boy home to his mother on Taft Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. He was not arrested during this incident.

The following day, Trooper Walters accessed the Delaware Justice Information System (DELJIS), a controlled-access law enforcement database, to look up information about the juvenile involved in the previous day's altercation.

On August 21, Trooper Walters was on duty when a 15-year-old minor, identified as "victim two", along with three friends, were near Walters' residence in Lancaster Village. The group pranked Walters home, with victim two running up to Walters' house, covering his face, kicking the door, and then fleeing the scene. Walters received a call from his girlfriend, who provided him with a description of victim two and told him the group had fled.

In response to this incident, Trooper Walters called the Delaware State Police (DSP) troopers and other police departments for assistance as he drove to his neighborhood. While searching for the minors, Walters was informed by a witness that the group had been seen running down Taft Avenue. He subsequently met two Newport police officers who had responded to assist DSP.

Walters accessed the law enforcement database for a second time and found the address of victim one on Taft Avenue. He, along with the Newport police officers, traveled to the home where they met the boy, who was accompanied by a friend, at the door. Upon their arrival, victim one and a friend came to the front door, unarmed, and complied with all orders. However, Walters forcibly pulled victim one out of the doorway, forcing him onto the ground, resulting in injuries. He was then handcuffed and detained but was never formally arrested.

Walters then learned that victim two and his friends had been located and detained. He drove to their location, where victim two was face-down on the ground with another trooper attempting to handcuff him. Trooper Walters, almost immediately upon arrival, placed his knee onto the back of victim two's neck/head, causing injury and distress, with the video showing the boy screaming in distress.

While victim two was handcuffed and detained in the back of a police vehicle, Trooper Walters punched him in the face, resulting in a fractured right eye socket. Walters turned off his body-worn camera during this altercation, only turning it back on afterward.

Delaware State Police supervisors have referred the incident to the Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust and have suspended Trooper Walters without pay and are providing full support for the ongoing criminal investigation into these incidents, the statement explained.

"As a mother and grandmother, the footage in this case is hard to watch. As a prosecutor, the constitutional violations are stunning," Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a statement. "Over the course of the evening, the Defendant chose to extract his own form of personal justice by embarking on a violent rampage, assaulting two defenseless minors, and attempting to conceal his misconduct. He will now face criminal consequences for his actions."

State Police Colenol Melissa Zebley apologized to Walters' victims on Tuesday, saying the force recognizes "the gravity of the situation." Speaking to Delaware Online, she continued: "We assure you all that we are taking every possible step to prevent such things from happening in the future."

Newsweek has contacted Delaware State Police Department for comment.

Warning: The videos may be disturbing.