Autistic girl arrested for saying officer 'looked like lesbian nana'
Moment seven officers drag ‘autistic’ girl, 16, kicking and screaming from Leeds home for committing a ‘hate crime’ after she told female cop ‘you look like my nana who is a lesbian’
- A 16-year-old girl was arrested after saying a police officer ‘looked like a lesbian’
- The girl hid in her hallway and was filmed being dragged away screaming
A police force has been accused of heavy handedness after a teenage girl with autism was detained by seven officers after ‘saying a female officer looked like her nana, who is a lesbian’.
The 16-year-old, who also suffers from scoliosis, had been driven to her home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, by officers after midnight when she allegedly made the comment.
She was later dragged away screaming over the ‘homophobic public order offence’.
The incident was recorded by the girl’s mother who uploaded the footage to Tiktok.
The mother posted: ‘This is what police do when dealing with autistic children. My daughter told me the police officer looked like her nana, who is a lesbian.
The female officer insisted the girl would be arrested after she ‘said she looked like her lesbian nana’
The girl was dragged screaming from her home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, by a group of officers after a ‘homophobic public order offence’
‘The officer took it the wrong way and said it was a homophobic comment (it wasn’t).
‘The officer then entered my home.
‘My daughter was having panic attacks from being touched by them and they still continued to manhandle her.’
The clip prompted condemnation when it was shared on Tiktok and Twitter.
Dogs are cats tweeted: ‘I cannot believe my own eyes. Someone in the police force needs to be sacked for this egregious, disgraceful situation.’
Andie posted: ‘This is disgusting behaviour by Yorkshire police. And how many officers needed to attend? No small wonder that girl was terrified.’
Andrew Piper added: ‘@WestYorks Police completely unacceptable from the officers in this video. When the officer was informed that the daughter had autism, the comment “I don’t care” is completely inappropriate.’
In the footage, two officers can be seen in the hallway of the family’s home, while the girl hides in a corner next to a cupboard.
A female officer with short blonde hair can be heard insisting ‘she [the girl] is going to be arrested’.
The girl cowered in a corner of the hallway as her mother insisted she was autistic and had not meant to offend the officer
The male officer said a homophobic comment had been made to his colleague
The girl, who also has scoliosis, tumbled down as she was dragged by officers outside into a police car
The girl’s mother says: ‘She’s made a comment in her own house, she hasn’t said anything to you.’
The mother repeats ‘she’s autistic’, the officer responds ‘I don’t care’.
The girl then makes some noises while the mother has captioned, explaining she is punching herself in distress.
The officers remain in the hallway as the mother shouts out: ‘You’re going to remove her for what, she said the word lesbian? Her nana is a lesbian, she’s married to a woman. She’s not homophobic.’
A male officer intervenes, saying a homophobic comment has been made to his colleague.
Eventually more officers arrive and the girl screams and wails as she is taken away.
In response, West Yorkshire Police said a relative of the girl had earlier called to say she was intoxicated in Leeds city centre.
West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Oz Khan said: ‘We are aware of a video circulating on social media which, as is often the case, only provides a very limited snapshot of the circumstances of this incident.
‘Officers had their body-worn video cameras activated during their wider involvement with this young girl which provides additional context to their actions.
‘We have received a complaint in relation to this incident which is currently being assessed by West Yorkshire Professional Standards Directorate.
‘While that ongoing process and the active criminal investigation limit our ability to fully discuss the incident in detail, we feel it is important for people to have some context about the circumstances.
‘From 12.12am on Monday, August 7, police received calls from a family member of a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly intoxicated and putting herself at risk in Leeds city centre.
‘Officers attended at about 1am and drove the teenager to her home so she could be appropriately looked after.
‘Upon returning her to the address, comments were made which resulted in the girl being arrested on suspicion of a homophobic public order offence. The nature of the comments made was fully captured on body-worn video.
‘When the girl was eventually fit to be interviewed, that interview took place with an appropriate adult.
‘She was later released on bail pending further enquiries and advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.
‘West Yorkshire Police takes its responsibilities around the welfare of young people taken into custody and around neurodiversity very seriously.
‘We also maintain that our officers and staff should not have to face abuse while working to keep our communities safe.
‘We are fully reviewing the circumstances of this incident and ask that people avoid reaching any conclusions about it solely on the basis of the social media video.’
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