New Jersey Police Officer Charged With Assault After Pepper Spraying 2 Black Teens On Stoop
In Woodlynne, New Jersey, a white police officer, identified as Ryan Dubiel, 31, has been suspended without pay and charged with two counts of simple assault after “unjustly” pepper spraying two black teens sitting on a stoop.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s office has released body camera footage showing the moments leading up to and during the incident. In the video, several officers are seen talking to a group of teens on a porch, claiming they received a complaint of trespassing and loitering from a property owner.
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They proceed to ask for names, with many of them refusing. Two minutes later Dubiel is yelling at one teen, who is looking down at his phone texting his brother, to put his hands behind his back. Moments after, he deploys his pepper spray on the young man, then the group, then proceeds to chase another person, again deploying his pepper spray.
Woodlynne Councilman Clyde Cook says Dubiel, who is now suspended from the Woodlynne Police Department without pay, has been investigated for misconduct before. He says, “I question once again, our mayor, why would you put an officer, or allow an officer to be on the street, knowing he has two strikes against him against the general public?”
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