Police have been accused of heavy handedness after an autistic teenage girl was arrested by seven officers after saying ‘a female officer looked like her lesbian nana’.
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 in the early hours of Monday morning having been served a ‘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 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 footage prompted outrage online, with one social media user writing: ‘I cannot believe my own eyes. Someone in the police force needs to be sacked for this egregious, disgraceful situation.’
Another posted: ‘This is disgusting behaviour by [West] Yorkshire police. And how many officers needed to attend? No small wonder that girl was terrified.’
Andrew Piper added: ‘@West Yorks Police completely unacceptable from the officers in this video. When the officer was informed that the daughter had autism, the comment [from the officer] “I don’t care” is completely inappropriate.’
In the footage, two officers can be seen in the hallway of the home, while the girl hides in a corner next to a cupboard.
The female officer in question, who has cropped blonde hair, can be heard insisting ‘she [the girl] is going to be arrested’.
Read More: officers drag ‘autistic’ girl, 16, kicking and screaming from Leeds home
