The arrest of a 17-year-old boy by Vacaville police has his father upset, saying officers went too far, especially because his son has autism.
“I’ve told people, I’m pro-police but I’m not pro-abuse,” said Adam Wolf. “Fine line when it comes to that.”
His son Preston Wolf was being detained after police received a 911 call related to an assault.
“You can see in the video he was just standing there with his scooter when police showed up,” said Adam.
Video shows Preston following police instructions when told to sit down and when the officer tried to cuff him, he tried to run away.
His father says there’s a reason for that.
“A child with autism, he doesn’t like to be touched and have that child confront him with no explanation,” said Adam. “When he backed away, that officer felt the need to grab him and throw to the ground and climb on top and punched him in the face.”
Police say there was a reason for the officer to stop the teen.
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“Vacaville police responded to a stabbing or assault with a deadly weapon reported to be a knife or a pipe,” said officer Katie Cardona of the Vacaville Police Department.
According to police and Preston's father, the teenager got into a scuffle with a 16-year-old boy and that teenager apparently called authorities.
“We understand the video on social media is hard to watch,” said Cardona. “When responding to a 911 call reporting the potential stabbing or an assault with a deadly weapon. Officers were unaware at this time that this was a special needs individual.”
Preston’s father says things need to change.
“Not all cops are bad but there are bad apples in every bunch and the behavior that I saw in that video was disturbing and sickening and it shouldn’t have happened,” said Adam.
The father said his son got a citation for resisting arrest. He also says he’s not sure what that means and is curious about what that would mean for his son.
The officer involved in the encounter is still on the job as the investigation continues.
