Philly police cleared in alleged assault of youth

A Philadelphia grand jury has decided a youth’s claim that a police officer conducting a search squeezed his scrotum so hard that it required surgery is not true.

District Attorney Seth Williams said the grand jury reviewed videotapes of the incident recorded from multiple angles and concluded the police did not use excessive force in the arrest of a youth in January. The grand jury also determined the youth exaggerated what happened during the events surrounding his arrest at the subway stop at Broad Street and Girard Avenue.

“The testimony and video evidence conclusively demonstrated that it took officers three minutes and 49 seconds to place student No. 1 into custody because he physically resisted their efforts,” Williams said Thursday.

Once the teen appeared before the grand jury, Williams said, his story wasn’t as razor sharp as it was first related.

“He told the grand jurors several stories, he told the grand jurors the press conference was called by his attorney, he also told the grand jurors other stories about him not being injured,” Williams said.

The young man’s name is not being used because he is underage. Williams actually praised police in the incident because they did not use nightsticks or other force to arrest the youth.