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Woman: Norfolk Police Pepper-Sprayed Grandchildren

Posted on: Thursday, 15 June 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Matthew Jones, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Jun. 15--NORFOLK -- A woman has publicly accused police of pepper-spraying her and her grandchildren this weekend.

The woman, Lorraine Patterson-Davidson, made the allegation during a City Council meeting Tuesday.

Patterson-Davidson said the incident happened Saturday , when police came to her home at 907 Campostella Road in response to a complaint that she had choked a grandchild until she lost consciousness. She said the complaint was false and came from her daughter's estranged fiance.

Patterson-Davidson said she spoke with the first officer and called down her 17 grandchildren -- ranging in age from 5 months to 15 years -- and showed the officer they were all fine. Two of her daughters and a daughter-in-law were also there, she said .

This didn't satisfy the officer, she said, and he returned with his sergeant. Patterson-Davidson said she was preparing to show the children to the sergeant when the officer grabbed her arm through the screen door and twisted it behind her.

At this point, she said she began screaming. The sergeant then used pepper spray and she fell to the ground, she said. In the meantime, some of her grandchildren had approached to see what was wrong and they, too, were sprayed, she said.

Ambulances arrived and several of the children were evaluated, Patterson-Davidson said. Police issued her a summons for obstructing justice, she said.

Police tell a different version of events. Cpl. Ollan Burruss, a police spokesman, said an officer originally went to check on the well-being of a child after a call came in. He said a woman refused to allow the officer in. A supervisor arrived.

At some point, Burruss said, a 15-year-old youth got between police and the woman and was given one burst of pepper spray. He said nobody else was targeted, but that the mist in the air can affect those nearby.

Battalion Chief Bruce Evans, a spokesman for Norfolk Fire-Rescue, said that medic units headed to 907 Campostella Road twice on Saturday. He would not elaborate on the first call, at 12:19 p.m., beyond saying that the matter was turned over to police.

At 12:40 p.m., the fire department responded to a call that several children had been pepper sprayed. One youth was evaluated at the scene but refused treatment, he said.

The fire marshal and social services have since been to the house. The fire marshal made minor safety recommendations, Patterson-Davidson said.

The social workers evaluated Patterson-Davidson's grandchildren and found that none were in immediate danger, said Terry Bishirjian, the city's communications director. They also found that there are a number of services for which the family qualifies.

Patterson-Davidson said she planned to file a complaint with the department today. Bishirjian said any charges of police misconduct will be investigated.

Staff writer Matthew Roy contributed to this report.

* Reach Matthew Jones at (757)446-2949 or matthew.jones@pilotonline.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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