Dallas Officer Arrested For Assaulting 15-Year-Old Boy

Source: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Getty

35-year-old Stephen Puzio has been fired and arrested for aggravated assault on a 15-year-old. The teen was taken to the hospital with injuries that included chipped teeth, a bloody lip, and a swollen eye after the aggressor put the teen in a chokehold and stepped on his head. Stephen was arrested and fired the same night the incident occurred.

Stephen was a service officer at the Dallas County juvenile department. This department has recently been under scrutiny for previous issues. The incident took place at the Lyle B Medlock facility.

Medlock Youth Treatment Center. This facility houses boys between the ages of 13 and 17 years olds. Stephen told investigators the teen had fallen off the bunk bed, which is how he got his injuries; however, when investigators reviewed camera footage from inside the facility. The footage shows the two watching TV together when the teen playfully touched Stephen’s head, but that made him mad.The two stood up, and the teen ran away. When Stephen caught the teen, he put him in a choke hold for about 12 seconds, causing the teen to lose consciousness, where he then fell to the ground, and Stephen stepped over him and stepped on his neck. The teen got up, holding his head when he regained consciousness. When the teen was questioned about the incident in the hospital, his story matched the video footage they saw from the facility cameras. The teen said Stephen punched him in the stomach and put him in a chokehold, demanding an apology, but the teen says he couldn’t because he was having a hard time breathing due to the assault Stephen inflicted on him.

The Dallas County Commissioners’ Court held a meeting this week to discuss the issues, what had happened, and how.

The teen has been released from the hospital and is back in custody. His family wants people to understand their frustration, which has led them to hire their own attorney; they want people to see the photos of what was done to their son. Photos show the 15-year-old with his right eye swollen shut, chipped teeth, and what appears to be a shoe outline on his face.

Director of the juvenile facility, H. Lynn Hadnot, spoke at the meeting but was limited on what he could say; however, he assured the commissioner that he and his team are working to make sure the juveniles in Dallas custody are protected and feel safe. Hadnot tells Fox News, “Obviously, any time you have questionable incidents or things that occur, it requires a swift response and appropriate action. And I can assure you we will be doing that.”

For the past few months, Hadnot and his staff have been ‘cleaning house’ physically and figuratively due to the issues the state found within their facility, how things were running, and how the juveniles were being treated, as well as neglected.

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