A black teen was pepper sprayed inside his North Carolina home after police mistook him for a burglar, the Associated Press reported.
DeShawn Currie, 18, has been living with his white foster parents for about a year. After school Monday, Currie entered his Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, home through an unlocked side door, prompting a neighbor to call police and report a potential burglary, the Associated Press reported.
Three officers responded and followed Currie inside, asking him what he was doing there. In an interview with ABC 11, Currie said he asked them what they were doing in his home. The officers pointed at photos on the mantle showing his white family members and said he didn't belong, Currie said. The address on his ID did not match the home.
According to the Fuquay-Varina Police Department, Currie became "belligerent" and did not follow officers' instructions. One officer used pepper spray on him.
"I know this is where I belong," Currie told ABC 11.