Police in the United Kingdom arrested an autistic teenage girl on Monday, accusing her of homophobia. Shocking viral video of the incident uploaded by the girl’s mother shows police dragging the crying teen out of her house and escorting her away after she allegedly told a female officer that she looked like her lesbian grandmother.
The incident began shortly after midnight when police were escorting the autistic 16-year-old home after finding her intoxicated at a shopping center in Leeds, West Yorkshire. “Officers attended at about 1 am and drove the teenager to her home so she could be appropriately looked after,” a police statement reported. The girl, who has also been diagnosed with scoliosis, apparently made the comments in question during the drive, telling one of the responding officers—a female with a short haircut—that she resembled the girl’s “lesbian nana.”
A short time later, additional officers arrived on the scene, and a cellphone video posted to TikTok by the girl’s mother captured the moment she was “arrested on suspicion of a homophobic public order offense.”
As the mother confronted the officers in the doorway of the residence, the girl sat crouched in the corner, crying and punching herself in the head, a stress response typical of people with autism. The woman attempted to explain that the girl’s grandmother is indeed a lesbian “married to a woman,” arguing that her daughter is not homophobic but rather was simply making an observation. Officers eventually entered the home and pulled the screaming girl outside despite the mother’s objections.
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The video of the arrest quickly went viral on social media, with outraged viewers calling for a full explanation from West Yorkshire Police and a reprimand for the heavy-handed methods of the officers. Given that West Yorkshire County boasts the second-highest violent crime rate in the entire United Kingdom, many saw the use of seven officers to arrest one autistic girl for alleged homophobia as an unnecessary overreaction.
The incident also drew broader criticism of the UK’s policies on hate speech regulations, which many have argued are unfairly applied to only protect favored groups. The criticism was also echoed in the United States, where similar debates over speech restrictions have raged for years.
West Yorkshire Police responded to the situation on Thursday, releasing a statement that said in part: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media which, as is often the case, only provides a very limited snapshot of the circumstances of this incident. Officers had their body-worn video cameras activated during their wider involvement with this young girl which provides additional context to their actions.”
The statement continues by reassuring the public that the department is “fully reviewing the circumstances of this incident” and asking that people “avoid reaching any conclusions about it solely on the basis of the social media video.”
Please see our statement in relation to a video circulating on social media about an incident in Leeds. pic.twitter.com/JKbddWHgrf
— West Yorkshire Police (@WestYorksPolice) August 10, 2023
After being held and interviewed for a number of hours, the girl was released back to her mother on bail pending further investigation.
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