A pair of Worcester police officers are accused of pinning a 10-year-old boy with autism to the ground with a knee on his neck, according to a federal lawsuit filed against the city and the officers.
Nearly three years ago to the day, Lindsey Beshai Torres was en route to Gates Lane Elementary School in Worcester with her children when voices began to rise. Her 10-year-old son, who is autistic, became angry and threw a plastic bottle at the dashboard. The sports drink ripped the car’s rear-view mirror out of position.
In what would be a first for her, Beshai Torres called 911 seeking help to calm her son, who is only identified in the lawsuit as JT.
The operator told Beshai Torres that an ambulance was on its way when Beshai Torres told her son he would be able to speak with a doctor soon, the lawsuit says.
Then two Worcester police officers, identified in the lawsuit as, John Alers and Paul McCarthy, arrived before the ambulance.
Beshai Torres says in the lawsuit she informed the officers of her son’s diagnosis and asked they interact calmly with him.
“Officer McCarthy had interacted with JT before and knew he was an autistic and disabled child,” the lawsuit states.
When the officers attempted to speak with JT, he grunted. After a few more attempts, the suits claims, JT grabbed a small bag of chips and threw it at Alers, although it did not strike the officer.
“Common sense dictated that there was no need for precipitate action, that the officers should give JT room to calm down while waiting for the ambulance, that in any event they should do nothing to alarm or upset JT and there was no need to touch or detain him,” the lawsuit says.
Instead, the suit alleges, Alers, with the help of McCarthy, grabbed JT’s arm and pulled him out of the car before pinning him to the ground.
While JT was on the ground, the lawsuit alleges, McCarthy placed his knee on the boy’s neck and Alers put his knee on the 10-year-old’s legs as they brought his arms behind his back.
As the boy screamed, officers allegedly told his mother to “back off," according to the lawsuit.
The officers remained on JT for several minutes, the lawsuit says, as they handcuffed the boy.
“I am aware of a recently-filed lawsuit against the City of Worcester and two of its police officers regarding an alleged incident in 2017 involving a young, autistic boy," City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said in a statement. "The incident resulted in an outcome that no one desired, and I feel for what the boy and his family experienced, but because this is an ongoing legal matter, I am unable to comment further at this time.”
When EMTs arrived, they noticed a “slight deformity to [the] proximal humeral head” of the right arm, according to medical notes cited in the lawsuit. An X-ray revealed a lateral epicondyle avulsion fracture with soft tissue swelling and joint effusion, an injury that required surgery and led to $23,505 in medical bills, the lawsuit said.
The suit says JT now has a scar from the surgery and has developed severe depression and anxiety. He no longer enjoys school and has a fear of driving in cars.
Beshai Torres reached out to the Worcester Police Department on January 25, 2018, according to the lawsuit. The Worcester Police Department Bureau of Professional (WPD BOPS) Standards responded with apologies and allegedly told her the incident should not have been handled in such a manner.
When asked what she wanted to happen as a result of the incident, Beshai Torres told the officer the department needed to receive training on how to deal with children with autism.
The suit alleges no such training took place and neither Alers nor McCarthy were interviewed by WPD BOPS in their investigation.
“The pep talk given to Mrs. Beshai Torres by WPD BOPS investigators was nothing more than lip service to placate her into thinking something would be done by the City to fix the problem and to prevent future similar incidents from happening in the future,” the suit says.
The lawsuit claims the officers involved lied in their reports on the incident. The lawsuit says Alers reported that JT was out of control and threw a bag of trash at him before yelling profanities and pounding the dashboard. The suit claims none of that happened.
The 22-page lawsuit filed in federal court by Beshai Torres through her attorneys, Hector E. Pineiro and Robert A. Scott, names the city of Worcester, Alers and McCarthy as defendants. McCarthy is retired from the force.
Another lawsuit was filed in August against the city of Worcester and a pair of officers.
In August, a lawsuit was filed by Christopher Ayala-Melendez who was arrested on October 26, 2019 and charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct after police said he participated in the melee that occurred outside a bar in Franklin Street.
However, video from the night shows him speaking with an officer prior to another officer grabbing his arm from behind, throwing him to the ground while the K-9 bites his side, disputes police’s claims that led to his arrest and use of force.
The charges - as a result of the video - were dropped on June 16.
In July, a law firm hired by Clark University released findings that said four Clark students who were arrested during protests on June 1 acted neither violently nor destructively and that actions taken by the Worcester Police Department did not meet the “standard” that should be afforded to the public.
On June 1, city officials including City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. and Police Chief Steve Sargent marched with protesters in Worcester to speak out against police brutality. However, changes within the department have yet to happen.
In an interview with MassLive last week, Augustus, speaking on the topic of police reform, said changes within the city’s department are expected in the fall.
“Something has to happen,” Augustus said. “People need to be heard. People need to know that their government is responsive.”
MassLive reached out to the city for comment on the most recent lawsuit.
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