A medical report disputes the claim of a Philadelphia student’s mother that one of the teen’s testicles was ruptured last month during an extreme pat down by a police officer, the Philadelphia Daily News reports.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that the report does not support a claim that Darrin Manning, 16, was roughed up on Jan. 7 by a female officer, who pulled his genitals so hard during a pat down that one of his testicles ruptured.
"Let's just say that the severity of the injury being alleged to the media is inaccurate," Ramsey told the Daily News, adding that "no one [in the department] has spoken to the young man, his lawyer or his mother."
The District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident, which sparked a loud public outcry after Manning’s mother, Ikea Conley, told the press that his testicle was ruptured so badly that he may not be able to father children.
The family’s lawyer, Lewis Small, told the Daily News that Manning was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he underwent an ultrasound to determine the level of damage. Doctors initially said that they suspected his testicle was ruptured and that immediate surgery was necessary, Small said.
But after the surgery, the hospital’s medical report says that doctors determined that his testicle was not ruptured. Only a blood clot was found and it was subsequently removed.
The Daily News learned from a doctor who is familiar with the case that the clot appeared very small, and that "it may have been related to trauma, but it certainly would not cause sterility," the article says.
Small told the Daily News that it's inaccurate to depict Manning's testicle as being ruptured, but argues that it does not "take away from the seriousness of the event."
The officer involved in the incident has been reassigned to desk duty, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Read more at Philly.com.