Former Delaware state trooper convicted of assaulting teens after door prank

A former delaware state trooper was sentenced to prison on tuesday for the state’s first-ever deprivation of civil rights after the trooper attacked two teenagers in August 2023.

Dempsey Walters, 30, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, deprivation of civil rights, third-degree assault and official misconduct in April. On Tuesday, the 30-year-old was sentenced to one year in prison and four years of probation.

Walters was charged in September 2023, but the assaults on a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old boy occurred in August 2023.

According to the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, Walters was on his way home from work when he got into a verbal altercation with a 17-year-old boy on August 17, 2023. Walters then contacted Elsmere police, who sent officers to take him. the teen to his home on Taft Avenue.

The AG’s office said Walters looked up the 17-year-old in a controlled-access law enforcement database the next day.

A few days later, on August 21, a 15-year-old boy was walking through Elsmere with three friends when he ran up to Walters’ house, kicked the front door while covering his face and ran away as part of a prank. . Walters was not home at the time, but his girlfriend was there and called him with a description of the boy who had kicked in the door.

The AG’s office said Walters then alerted state police and nearby police departments for backup. Walters searched his neighborhood and was told by a witness that several teenagers had been seen walking along Taft Avenue.

According to the AG’s office, Walters again looked up the 17-year-old in the law enforcement database, found his home address on Taft Avenue and went there with assisting officers.

The 17-year-old answered the door and was pulled from his home by Walters, where he was forced to the ground and handcuffed. According to the AG’s office, the teen was injured by the impact Walters applied when he pushed him to the ground. The AG’s office said the 17-year-old was not part of the group that kicked in Walters’ door earlier that evening.

“You have to think before you act. I don’t even know. I just think he was out of control, and I’m just glad he’s off the streets,” said Chavuan Harris, the 17-year-old’s mother.

When the former state trooper heard the 15-year-old and his friends had been arrested, he encountered the officers, who placed the teen face down on the ground and handcuffed him. Walters then dropped his knee on the back of the 15-year-old’s neck, injuring him, the AG’s office said.

Walters confirmed with an officer on scene that the 15-year-old was the one who kicked his door, then turned off his body-worn camera and punched the teen in the face, breaking the 15-year-old’s right eye socket and giving him a concussion got.

“I mean, I was glad to see him in handcuffs. Better than 90 days. But just glad we can move on,” said Erica Murphy, the 15-year-old’s mother.

When asked about her son’s well-being, she said, “He’s recovering. You know, he’s doing the best he can.”

The AG’s office said Walters then turned his body-worn camera back on.

After discovering the misconduct, DSP supervisors suspended Walters without pay with intent to terminate. The former state trooper resigned after pleading guilty in April.

An attorney for the two families of the teenage boys attacked by Walters previously described the series of violence as “law enforcement sponsored torture.” The attorney also said other officers were just as bad for not intervening.

DSP said while they identified several policy violations involving the other troopers, no one else has been criminally charged.

State police said Walters has revoked his certification so he cannot become a police officer in another city or town.