FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A North Carolina family is accusing their neighbors and police of racially profiling their black foster son after he was mistaken for a burglar and pepper-sprayed in their home Monday.
DeShawn Currie, 18, is the foster child of Ricky and Stacy Tyler, who are white. The family moved to England Avenue in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., in July, and say that while they're still getting to know their new neighbors, they're shocked someone would accuse their son of being a burglar.
"He's my baby boy just as much as my other three children are," Stacy Tyler told WTVD.
Stacy Tyler left the side door of the house unlocked for Currie, who was coming home early from high school. A neighbor spotted him entering the house and called 911.
Related
- Sierra Leone burial team strike leaves ebola dead abandoned in the streets
- Federal courts strike down same-sex marriage ban in Nevada, Idaho
- Bald eagle found injured in Virginia dies
- FBI Director Comey: Chinese hackers like 'drunk burglars'
- Lois Lerner tried to barge into her neighbor's house to avoid interview
Police said three officers responded to the call reporting an alleged burglary, noting that the neighborhood has recently experienced criminal activity, according to a statement released Monday. They confronted Currie inside the home, and say they only pulled out the pepper spray when Currie became belligerent and threatening.
But the Tylers tell a different story.
"It was like, 'Put your hands on the door,'" Currie said. "I was like, 'For what? This is my house.' I was like, 'Why are y'all in here?'"
Currie said he became angry when police pointed to pictures of his three young foster siblings on the mantle, assuming he didn't belong in the house.
"I'm feeling comfortable," he said, of living with his foster family. "I had moved into my room, and I'm feeling like I'm loved. And then when they come in and they just profile me and say that I'm not who I am. And that I do not stay here because there was white kids on the wall, that really made me mad."
Stacy Tyler came home as EMTs were treating Currie in the driveway, and explained the situation to the responding officers. But she and Ricky Tyler say that, while they've been able to clear things up with police, the damage has been done to their family.
"My 5-year-old last night, she looked at me and said, 'Mama I don't understand why they hated our brother, and they had to come in and hurt him,'" she said.
Added Ricky Tyler: "Everything that we've worked so hard for in the past years was stripped away yesterday in just a matter of moments."
The Tylers and Currie met with Fuquay-Varina Police Capt. Bob Adams for several hours Tuesday. No charges have been filed.
