Watertown, N.Y. - A Watertown Police Department lieutenant was arrested Thursday after troopers say he used force to take a 9-year-old boy down to the ground and handcuff him.
The interaction between Lt. James R. Spencer Jr. and the boy happened outside a police station on Sept. 24, according to Trooper Jennifer Jiron, a spokesperson for the State Police.
The boy was being restrained by two other officers when Spencer took him down, a trooper said in a criminal complaint filed in Watertown City Court.
On Thursday, Spencer, 57, was charged with second-degree harassment (a violation) and endangering the welfare of a child (a misdemeanor).
Spencer, who has been with the department for 35 years, was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 26.
The lieutenant’s use of force was serious enough to prompt the Watertown City Court to issue a criminal summons, Jiron said.
On the morning of Sept. 24, a guardian brought the boy to the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building at 753 Waterman Drive to speak to an officer, troopers said.
At first, the boy refused to enter the building and ran into nearby bushes to hide, troopers said. He was guided out of the bushes by two Watertown police officers and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office detective, and they headed back to the building.
As Spencer approached the group, the boy kicked off one of his shoes which hit him in the groin, troopers said.
That’s when Spencer used force to take the boy to the ground and handcuff him, troopers said.
The takedown caused the boy to become more upset and caused pain in his legs, a trooper said in the complaint.
The boy was brought into the building for his meeting, then released to his guardian, State Police said.
State Police did not say why the guardian brought the boy to the police station or if the boy was injured in the confrontation.
Watertown police this morning in a news release said that it had investigated the use of force incident and placed Spencer on leave. The department also wouldn’t say why the boy was at the police station.
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