Police pepper-spray black teenager in his home after mistaking him for a burglar

Police were called to the home of DeShawn Currie after a neighbour saw him use a side door to enter the house

DeShawn Currie was pepper-sprayed in the home of his white foster family after police mistook him for a burglar (ABC11)

A black teenager was pepper-sprayed in the home of his white foster family after police mistook him for a burglar.

Police were called to the home of DeShawn Currie, 18, after a neighbour saw him use a side door to enter the house after returning from school.

Mr Currie told ABC11 officers ordered him to place his hands on the door.

He said: "I was like, 'For what? This is my house.' I was like, 'Why are y'all in here?'"

Mr Currie said officers pointed to pictures of his foster parents' three children to suggest he did not live in the house.

He said he was then pepper-sprayed following an argument.

Police in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, released a statement this week which said officers responded to a call of a possible burglary.

After arriving at the scene, officers asked Mr Currie to confirm his identity. They then continued to question him after the identification he produced did not match the address.

The statement said Mr Currie was pepper-sprayed following attempts to restrain him after he became "very volatile, profane and threatened physical violence".

The statement said: "The Fuquay-Varina Police Department does not engage in nor does it condone racial profiling.

"At no time during this event was race a factor."