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Charges dropped against teen amputee who was restrained by deputy in Arizona

Posted at 10:42 AM, Nov 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-18 14:14:02-05

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona prosecutors have dropped disorderly conduct charges against a 15-year-old quadruple amputee who was wrestled to the floor of a group home and restrained by a sheriff's deputy.

The Pima County Attorney's Office said it decided to drop the charges immediately after viewing a video of a September incident shot by another youth at the group home where a worker had called 911 over a disturbance.

The 15-year-old boy's lawyer, Sam Jurgena, said his client wanted the video released publicly to protect other children in group homes.

The Associated Press is withholding the name of the 15-year-old because of his age.

A worker called law enforcement to the home over a disturbance.

KGUN 9 obtained this dramatic video of the incident from the Pima County Public Defender's Office.

The video is eight minutes long and eventually shows the quadruple amputee teen being arrested and the teen who filmed the encounter put in handcuffs.

The Sheriff's Department is conducting an internal investigation into the incident.

"Deputy Manuel Van Santen has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation into the incident is being conducted," the Pima County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Manuel Van Santen has been with the Pima County Sheriff's Department for 11 years.

Portions of this story were originally published by Luzdelia Caballero on KGUN in Tucson, Arizona.