BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The city of Burlington faces a lawsuit over accusations of discrimination and use of excessive force by police against a Black teen with disabilities.
It stems from a police response in 2021. According to the lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Vermont, Burlington mother Cathy Austrian found out her 14-year-old had stolen several vape pens from a gas station in May 2021. Austrian called the police on her child as what she hoped would be “a learning opportunity.” The lawsuit claims that officers escalated the encounter with threats and violence and that paramedics injected the teen with the anesthetic ketamine to control the situation. The ACLU says the 14-year-old has behavioral and intellectual disabilities.
Reporter Sophia Thomas will have more on the story tonight on the Channel 3, along with additional coverage from our media partner Seven Days, who interviewed the mother.