Police pepper spray black teen in his own living room after he's mistaken for a burglar

Police pepper spray black teen in his own living room after he's mistaken for a burglar
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A black teenager in North Carolina was pepper sprayed in his own living room after being mistaken for a burglar, ABC News affiliate WTVD reports. The teen, 18-year-old DeShawn Currie, was accosted in his home Monday afternoon after a neighbor called the police when he saw Currie enter the home through the side door, suspecting him of being an intruder.

Currie is being fostered by Ricky and Stacy Tyler, a white couple. He has been living with them and their three young sons for roughly a year, but the family had just moved to a new neighborhood in July. Stacy Tyler left the side door open for Currie on Monday afternoon so that he could get into the house after returning home from school. A neighbor saw Currie walk into the home and called to report a break-in.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.