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A “severely autistic” Louisiana teenager died after lawmakers handcuffed, shackled and sat on him for more than nine minutes, his parents said in a federal lawsuit filed this week.
The teenager, Eric Parsa, died on January 19, 2020, following an incident in the parking lot of the Westgate Shopping Center in Metairie, about seven miles northwest of New Orleans.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in US District Court in New Orleans against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and seven of his deputies.
“We never thought our 16-year-old son with special needs would die in front of our eyes and at the hands of law enforcement,” Eric Parsa’s mother Donna Lou said by video conference on Thursday, according to The Times. -Mesquin.
Donna Lou and Daren Parsa said they were at a laser tag center with their son when he started having a “meltdown” in the Westgate Shopping Center parking lot, according to the costume. The teenager, described as obese, non-verbal and severely autistic, began slapping himself on the head.
He then slapped his father in the face and bit him, causing the man to bleed. The manager of the laser tag center asked the family if they needed police help, and the family said yes, the costume says.
Jefferson Parish MP Chad Pitfield, who was providing security at the mall, was the first to respond. The lawsuit says that by the time Pitfield arrived at the scene, the physical altercation between Eric Parsa and his father had ended.
But after the MP arrived, the teenager started slapping himself and his father again. Eric Parsa then slapped Pitfield as the deputy was fired.
“Pitfield responded by bringing EP to the ground,” the lawsuit says. “Deputy Pitfield then said that EP had bit his leg. Pitfield responded by hitting EP with a single strike… towards the head area.
The lawsuit says Pitfield knew Eric Parsa had autism. At one point, the deputy had asked other officers to help him.
During the altercation, Pitfield restrained the teenager with two pairs of handcuffs due to the teenager’s height. Pitfield is accused of sitting on Eric Parsa’s back for about seven minutes.
Six other deputies responded to the scene. Eventually, Pitfield left the teenager and another deputy, Nick Vega, took over sitting on Eric Parsa’s back, according to the lawsuit.
Vega is also accused of raising the teenager’s handcuffed hands above his head and putting him in a choke or neck grip after Erica Parsa tried to stand up.
The teenager was held to the ground for 9 minutes and 6 seconds, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, “there were several clear and distinct opportunities, when the EP was secure, was calm, did not actively resist,” he said, adding that MPs should have but “did not adequately reduce the use of force “.
He was left in this position on the floor until his body became limp. At that point, Eric Parsa was rolled onto his side. “By then it was too late. EP was dying,” the costume states.
The teenager’s mother told MPs she was a doctor and offered to help her perform CPR, but was told “to stay behind,” according to the lawsuit. Eric Parsa was transported to hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.
“JPSO MPs knew EP was obese. They knew he was autistic and that he was a “child with special needs”. They knew he had been involved in recent physical exertion. They knew that EP was in a crisis and that the family needed help. They knew he was unarmed. Yet, they persisted in restraining EP dangerously and forcefully without properly monitoring his condition, until they killed him, ”the lawsuit claims.
The coroner of the parish judged the accidental death “following a delirium excited” with his obesity and his “positioning on the stomach” among the contributing factors. The costume says death was no accident.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement: “While the sheriff’s office understands that all deaths are a cause of sadness and a moment of mourning, this trial is riddled with false statements and malicious accusations against the first MPs who responded.”
Sheriff officials said MPs were trying to control the explosion of a violent teenager and prevent him from hurting himself and others.
“The case centers on a severely autistic teenager diagnosed with numerous other mental conditions that have caused him frequent bouts of violence,” the statement said. “The teenager beat and bit his own father, causing serious bloody injuries.”
MPs Pitfield and Vega could not be contacted immediately on Saturday.
The family seeks an undetermined amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
The Associated Press contributed.
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