Horrific video shows police officers arresting a 16-year-old autistic boy who just moments earlier suffered an epileptic seizure while dining at a fast food restaurant in Fresno, California, on Thursday.
Lourdes Ponce of Delano, California, was furious over the incident as footage shows her screaming at officers who are seen placing her son in handcuffs instead of rushing him to the hospital.
‘He has autism, he has epilepsy, stop it!’ she is heard telling officers in the video provided to KFSN-TV.
Fresno police tried to arrest the boy inside an El Pollo Loco location in the center of town.
Lourdes Ponce of Delano, California, shot footage of police officers arresting her 16-year-old son who had just suffered an epileptic seizure at a fast food restaurant in Fresno, California, on Thursday evening
In the video, Ponce is heard screaming at the officers that her son is autistic and had just suffered a seizure
The boy was vomiting during his attempted arrest as Ponce insisted to police that he was not a danger to anyone and that he needed medical attention
Ponce, her son, and her daughter went to the restaurant to get a bite to eat after a visit to the doctor, who treated the boy for epileptic seizures.
Ponce said that while her son was in the bathroom at the El Pollo Loco, the seizures returned.
‘I stood outside the door, I heard him hit the floor, I tried to open the door but it was locked, that’s when I asked for help,’ she said.
When employees unlocked the bathroom door, they saw her son lying on the ground.
Ponce says she then told her daughter to call 911.
Instead of paramedics, however, the police arrived.
‘We called paramedics for help, we did not call police. He was not hurting anybody, he was having a seizure,’ she said.
Moments earlier, the 16-year-old boy was handcuffed by officers after suffering an epileptic seizure in the bathroom of the El Pollo Loco in Fresno, according to his mother
Ponce said that she dialed 911 and asked for paramedics to take the boy to the hospital, but instead the police showed up
The boy, his sister, and his mother came to eat at the fast food restaurant after paying a visit to the doctor because of an earlier epileptic seizure he had suffered that same day
A police officer wearing sunglasses is seen handcuffing and detaining the boy in the bathroom of the El Pollo Loco as his sister (wearing the red shirt) looks on
The sister appears to try to reassure her brother as he is handcuffed by officers
The photo above shows the El Pollo Loco location in Fresno where the incident took place
Officers attempted to place the boy in handcuffs. Video footage taken by Ponce shows them trying to put him in the back of their patrol car.
Ponce said her son at this point began to panic and started vomiting.
‘He saw that my son was throwing up and instead of helping him so that he wouldn’t choke on his vomit, they had him on the ground in handcuffs,’ she said.
Ponce said she then ran to her car to get paperwork proving that her son has a history of epileptic seizures.
‘After I showed the paperwork, EMS was able to treat him and take him to the hospital,’ she said.
Ponce (seen above) was outraged over the arrest. Police let her son go after she showed them paperwork proving that he suffered from epilepsy
Fresno police officers visited the boy in the hospital and handed his mother a ‘certificate of release’ form
The document indicates that police have no intention of arresting the boy in the future. He is seen above in his hospital bed at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno
The boy is recovering from seizures at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno.
Ponce said her son was so traumatized by what took place on Thursday that he is having difficulty accepting treatment from hospital staff.
She said that police stopped by the hospital on Friday to hand him a ‘certificate of release’ form – meaning that he will not be arrested.
Fresno Police issued a statement to KFSN-TV saying: ‘This case is currently under Administrative Review.
‘The review will include the examination of all the information pertaining to the officer’s contact including Body Worn Cameras.’
Ponce’s son is expected to recover. There is no word on when he will be released from the hospital.