SUSAN STAVA FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Troy Canales, 18, was roughed up by cops and arrested for no reason, according to a lawsuit. The autistic teen is seen here with his mom, Alyson-Aulet Valentine.
A developmentally disabled Bronx teen was punched in the face and body slammed by three cops for no valid reason — even as his mother cried he’s autistic, a lawsuit charges.
Troy Canales, 18, says his trust in the NYPD was shattered by the “hostile” 2014 encounter in front of his Bedford Park home.
“I feel terrified of cops now,” Canales told the Daily News on Wednesday.
A lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in Manhattan Federal Court, charging Canales was wrongfully assaulted, falsely imprisoned and had his constitutional rights violated.
The Nov. 12, 2014 incident occurred when the three unnamed cops rolled up to the front of Canales’ Bainbridge Ave. home at 8 p.m. and began grilling him about what he was up to, according to the suit.
Canales — who had been leaning against a parked car — told the officers that he was just “chillin’,” according to the suit filed by attorney Carmen Giordano.
The suit notes that Canales, who was 17 at time, has the “demeanor of someone much younger due to his autism” and that he “easily becomes nervous and anxious” when speaking with strangers.
Still to this day, I don’t know what my son was arrested for.
For unclear reasons, the cops didn’t like Canales’ response.
“They grabbed me and threw me on the ground so my face was on the concrete,” said Canales, adding that one of the cops punched him in the face.
As he screamed for his family for help, a cop kneed him in the back, the suit charges.
“He’s screaming, ‘Help me, mommy! Help me, mommy!” Canales’ mother, Alyson Aulet-Valentine, told The News.
As her son was hauled into a police cruiser in handcuffs, Aulet-Valentine, 41, pleaded for an explanation, and told the officers her son is autistic.
She was ignored.
ALFRED GIANCARLI FOR NY DAILY NEWS
A lawsuit has accused cops of pulling up to Canales' home and assaulting him for no reason.
“Still to this day, I don’t know what my son was arrested for,” the mother said.
She said when she went to the 52nd Precinct stationhouse, one of the arresting officers told her her son had made him “afraid for his life.”
She said she told the cop he was “a liar.”
After pleading with the precinct captain, her son was released without being charged. He spent an hour in custody.
Aulet-Valentine said the captain apologized and said, “‘these things happen.’”
She said her son now becomes extremely anxious at the mere sight of a police car.
Troy Canales told the Daily News that the encounter with police has made him terrified of cops.
“After the incident, he was too scared to go outside,” she said.
A city Law Department spokesman declined comment.
The suit also notes that the NYPD Patrol Guide does not instruct officers how to interact and identify people with developmental disabilities such as autism.
But NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton countered that cops are giving instruction on autism.
“Autism is one of the many issues in terms of people that we pride ourselves of having to deal with,” Bratton told The News. “In the academy, in the humanities curriculum, there is training specific to the issue of autism as well as other courses on how to deal with emotionally disturbed persons.”