Delaware state trooper accused of beating teens over ding dong ditch prank indicted by grand jury
By MADELEINE WRIGHT
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ELSMERE, Delaware (KYW) — A Delaware State Trooper has been indicted by a grand jury after being accused of beating a teen who tried to ding dong ditch. He is also accused of assaulting a second teen.
The teen allegedly rang the trooper’s doorbell last month, kicking the door before running away.
A grand jury indicted the trooper on Monday and the indictment was unsealed Tuesday. The trooper is charged with eight crimes, including assault, misconduct and deprivation of civil rights. He has now been suspended with intent to dismiss.
Ring doorbell video shows how it all started.
Prosecutors said the night of Aug. 21, a 15-year-old boy who had his face covered ran up to a house in Elsmere, kicked the front door and ran away.
That house happens to be where Delaware State Police Corporal Dempsey Walters lives.
Walters wasn’t home at the time, but his girlfriend was and she called police.
Troopers caught up with the boy and handcuffed him.
While the boy was on the ground, prosecutors said Walters dropped his knee onto the boy’s neck, causing him to scream in pain.
Later, Walters allegedly punched the teenager in the face while the teen was sitting in the back of a police vehicle, fracturing his eye socket, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also allege that earlier that night, Walters went to the home of a 17-year-old boy, who he thought was the prankster. They said Walters yanked that teen out of his house and threw him on the ground, injuring him as well.
This is the first time prosecutors are charging anyone under Delaware’s new deprivation of civil rights statute, which was passed by the state legislature last year.
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