Bucks D.A. to investigate Tullytown arrest

DOYLESTOWN Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Monday that his office was investigating whether Tullytown police engaged in "criminal misconduct" when they apprehended a 14-year-old shoplifting suspect who suffered "nasty" facial injuries in the encounter last week.

Joseph Williams' mother, Marissa Sargeant, posted a picture of her son's lacerated face on Facebook and alleged he "was brutally tortured" by police and Tasered in the face. She could not be reached Monday.

Police stopped Williams and two other suspects in the parking lot of the Levittown Shopping Center on suspicion that they stole merchandise from a Walmart store last Tuesday afternoon, Heckler said.

Williams, whom Heckler identified only as a minor with no previous criminal history, had his hands handcuffed behind his back when he ran toward Route 13 about 2:30 p.m., prompting police to warn him he would be Tasered if he did not stop, Heckler said.

"The teen did not comply with the orders and was Tasered, falling on his face," Heckler said. "They have a right to reduce him to custody, even for a summary offense."

Heckler said police fired a Taser barb into the teen's shoulder and another into a cheek and then hit the electricity, causing the suspect to lose control of his body and hit the ground on his face. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. After treatment, the teen was detained at the Juvenile Detention Center and released from custody on Friday, Heckler said.

Heckler said police had justification to use the Taser under those circumstances. He said the teen "face-planted" into the ground after being Tasered. He said the teen's suffering injuries did not necessarily mean the police engaged in misconduct.

Tullytown police, in a statement, referred to Sargeant's Facebook post as "misinformation that has been circulating on social media regarding an arrest made by Tullytown officers."

Heckler said Tullytown's police chief requested the District Attorney's Office and the FBI to probe the incident.

"I have to assume that the [mother's] allegation would be, he sustained these injuries as a result of other misconduct, and we'll look into it," Heckler said, adding that his office would interview any witnesses, the police officers, and the teenager himself.