A social media post made about the Manteca Police Department on Friday that criticized the agency’s response to a mental health situation involving juveniles prompted an investigation into the allegations contained in the post.

And after the department pulled the body camera footage and reviewed the information collected at the scene, they issued a statement about the incident that clarified that important elements of what transpired were not included in the criticism.

“The Manteca Police Department takes these incidents and such allegations seriously,” the agency said in the statement rebuking a large portion of the social media post. “The incident was researched along with officer worn body camera footage, officer statements, and reports.

“It was learned that the social media post did not contain all of the information of what occurred during the incident.”

According to the department, the incident in question occurred shortly before 6 p.m. on March 25 when the family members of a juvenile female called the police for assistance. When officers arrived, they witnessed the family attempting to follow the juvenile through the neighborhood.

While the department declined to share all the information about what transpired at the call – citing the confidentiality of all involved parties – the juvenile female was taken into protective custody. While she was being taken into custody, police say, she was uncooperative and successfully head-butted one of the responding officers in the face.

An incident involving a second juvenile female that attempted to step into the situation and try to take possession of a backpack that contained contraband was detained and eventually released without further incident.

The family members that had contacted authorities were working with the police to attempt to calm the juvenile female down to no avail, according to the statement released by the department.

 “The Manteca Police Department prides itself with their professionalism and respect for others,” the Manteca Police said in a statement about the incident. “Manteca’s Officers are regularly trained in the area of crisis intervention which is designed to enhance law enforcement response to persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and/or substance use disorders.

“The training emphasizes de-escalation techniques, effective communication strategies, and respecting human dignity and life.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.