An autistic teen had passed away following a violent police intervention last year and his grieving parents are now accusing seven deputies of killing him.
Eric Parsa, 16, was suffering from severe autism and had a meltdown on Jan. 19, 2020, during a trip to a shopping center where Officer Chad Pitfield was on-duty.
Parsa started slapping himself and his dad with the manager calling Pitfield to help the family in distress.
The deputy rushed to the scene, pinned the teen to the ground, bounded his hands and feet, and sat on him for around seven minutes.
Six other Jefferson Parish Sheriff officers arrived and intervened “sitting on, handcuffing, shackling, holding down, or standing by Eric as he was restrained and held face down on his stomach against the hard surface of the parking lot.”
The lawsuit alleges that in total, Eric was sat on for nine minutes and six seconds, and “there were several clear and distinct opportunities when E.P. was secured, was calm, was not actively resisting.”
The victim’s parents’ lawyer William Most stressed that “they should’ve taken the weight off of Eric Parsa’s back. They should have rolled Eric on to his side to ensure that he could continue to breathe.”
Even when Eric went limp, the officers refused to let his mom, who’s a doctor, to help him, telling her to “stay back and let them do their job.”
The boy dies at a hospital from cardiac arrest with restraining as a factor.
However, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office denied the lawsuit’s allegations in a statement.
“While the Sheriff’s Office understands that all deaths are cause for sadness and a time for grieving, this lawsuit is rife with false claims and malicious accusations against the first responding deputies.”
