6 year old child handcuffed and arrested

[LeanG]

A kindergartener was handcuffed and taken to the Highlands County Jail after acting up in school.

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2..._arrested.html


I'm a little speechless right now and my opinions are strong, perhaps a bit too strong for a pro LEO website, of which I am also a part. I am just curious to see where everyone else stands on this.

[Barbrady]

We had a kindergartener bring a gun to school the other day. They will fight you too (attempt of course they are little people after all). Time are changing, kids aren't being raised right and exposed to stuff they shouldn't be....scary actually.

[exComptonCop]

A kindergartener was handcuffed and taken to the Highlands County Jail after acting up in school.

She wasn't just "acting up", you left this part out...

"Police say the girl became violent. They say she threw chairs and hit a teacher!"

Getting hit by a chair can ruin your day. If in fact this happened the way it was reported, I don't have a problem with a child being cuffed, to prevent injuries to another child

[LeanG]

Maybe I should've included a comment or two. In my humble opinion, a 6 year old child can be detained and handcuffed for any reason, especially for the safety of others as well as us. However (hindsight being 20/20) I would not have arrested the child and taken him to the station, especially a child with no history (I do not know the history of this child). This child can easily be turned over to the parent, and the school can take appropriate actions against the chile i.e. suspension or expulsion. I've yet to meet a 6 year old child with the mental capacity to understand the charge of resisting arrest. If the child does have a long history with the school, then this is another discussion. BUT FELONY CHARGES AGAINST A 6 YEAR OLD?

[SpectraTAC]

This never happened back when I was a kid. The teacher or principal
would have paddled your *** and a second paddling was waiting when
you got home. Kids knew it and respected authority in the old days.

Today's breeders have no parenting skills and let television or the
entertainment media raise their offspring. No wonder this country is
screwed up. I remember when the only time a cop came into school
was to present safety patrol certificates and on Career Day.

[exComptonCop]

I would not have arrested the child and taken him to the station, especially a child with no history (I do not know the history of this child). This child can easily be turned over to the parent, and the school can take appropriate actions against the chile i.e. suspension or expulsion.

Assuming that parent is reachable, and able to respond. IF not, the child needs to be taken someplace, yes? In Ca. juvenile detainees, cannot be held with, or in visual range of adult arrestees. I'd bet "jailed on felony charges" is a phrase being used by the media for shock value.

There is always three sides to a story

[PhilipCal]

6 Year old child handcuffed

None of us were there,so, we really can't judge. In general, quite a few kids today are capable of actions that surprise most of us. The media can almost always be counted on to skew the story, and make it 180 odd from what actually happened. Teaching accountability/responsibility for personal actions is becoming a lost art.

[SRT936]

This never happened back when I was a kid. The teacher or principal
would have paddled your *** and a second paddling was waiting when
you got home. Kids knew it and respected authority in the old days.

Amen to that. Ever since they took corporal punishment out of the schools (and homes for that matter), the kids have taken over the asylum.

[aftermath]

Amen to that. Ever since they took corporal punishment out of the schools (and homes for that matter), the kids have taken over the asylum.

It's all the ***-backward people that think things need to be all PC and that punishing your children equates to child abuse. Hell, my parents beat me religiously, and rightfully so. When I was old enough to look back and see how I was, I'd have beat my own *** too. I hold that true with my son now as well. If he does wrong, he gets a swat on the *** and THEN I explain to him WHY. This crap about talking it out with your children, is just that, crap. As long as the child is PROPERLY disciplined (not beaten, bruised, etc.) then I am all for it. We never had things like Columbine or the like happen when we were young (I'm 28 so I'm not that dated on the matter). Children have no respect anymore and the world is going to **** because of it.

[MOGSOT]

I know all about getting my *** kicked as a kid, teenager, young adult by my old man. I don't blame him know days as I see my younger siblings walk all over him and my mom. They said I was the child to learn on. I dont think I turned out to bad. I'm 28 as well.

I've handcuffed kids that were 5 on up because they were hitting parents or siblings when I got to the call. My Dept. wont allow us to arrest under the age of 10. We usually call Child services to get involved.

[Mystikal]

I would not have arrested the child and taken him to the station, especially a child with no history

Assault is assault whether your 6 or 36. and the fact a chair was thrown make it a weapon.. which if used the right way can be deadly. I commend the officers for doing what they did. and as stated, kids just are not being raised right nowadays. just because you turn the kid over to their parents don't mean the parents are going to take care of the problem. the parents in most cases are the problem in the first place.

[driven2theedge]

Maybe I should've included a comment or two. In my humble opinion, a 6 year old child can be detained and handcuffed for any reason, especially for the safety of others as well as us. However (hindsight being 20/20) I would not have arrested the child and taken him to the station, especially a child with no history (I do not know the history of this child). This child can easily be turned over to the parent, and the school can take appropriate actions against the chile i.e. suspension or expulsion. I've yet to meet a 6 year old child with the mental capacity to understand the charge of resisting arrest. If the child does have a long history with the school, then this is another discussion. BUT FELONY CHARGES AGAINST A 6 YEAR OLD?

Why are you speaking about which you do not know?

1) I would not have arrested the child and taken HIM to the station... It was a she.

2) Especially a child with no history? you answered that one yourself

3) The child can easily be turned over to the parent..... Are you serious?

4) BUT FELONY CHARGES AGAINST A 6 YEAR OLD? --Media Hype! 6 year olds cannot be charged for felonies, especially in this case. Sometimes juveniles are not even tried as adults in murder cases.

Quit believeing the media so blindly.

- I would venture to say we might have an imposter amongst us.

[CGIS1]

Alright.. I can see handcuffing a violent kid, but actual charges? sorry, I dont' deal with this, but if I remember my law, children under the age of 7 can not be held criminally liable? Of course thats maryland, so I have no idea about FL.

[LeanG]

Why are you speaking about which you do not know?

1) I would not have arrested the child and taken HIM to the station... It was a she.

2) Especially a child with no history? you answered that one yourself

3) The child can easily be turned over to the parent..... Are you serious?

4) BUT FELONY CHARGES AGAINST A 6 YEAR OLD? --Media Hype! 6 year olds cannot be charged for felonies, especially in this case. Sometimes juveniles are not even tried as adults in murder cases.

Quit believeing the media so blindly.

- I would venture to say we might have an imposter amongst us.

This is, of course my opinion. Him/her, I don't think that makes a difference in the point that I was making. I've been on quite a few scenes where the media was present and the story later reported contained factual errors. I'm not believing the media blindly, however I thought that the way the story was written it made for a good conversation. I have absolutely NO IDEA what happened over there. In plain black and white, I'm just saying I wouldn't have arrested a 6 year old for those actions. I'm also not questioning the officer(s) that responded, I am interested in the thought behind the conclusion. I may one day find myself in a similar position and ...

[scannerson]

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/conte...old-girl/?news

AP Police Arrest 6-Year-Old Girl

By Joe Seelig of Highlands Today

Published: March 31, 2007

AVON PARK — A 6-year-old girl was in the custody of her mother Friday after the Avon Park Police Department escorted the girl in hancuffs from Avon Elementary School to the Highlands County Jail on charges relating to battery of a school employee.

It was 10:59 a.m. Wednesday when police officer Tamara L. Neale reported she was called to 705 Winthrop St., on a call about a disruptive student.

The child was upset and crying and wailing and would not leave the classroom to let the other students study, causing a disruption of the normal class activities, Neale noted in her report.

Lisa Elder, who is an exceptional student education teacher, was called in to help remove the child from the classroom, at which time the child began to hit and kick her.

"She had to be carried to the front office, at which time she continued to wail and cry and refused to communicate in any way or to calm down," Neale reported.

Avon Elementary School Principal Pam Burnham said she could not talk about the specifics of the case, but could talk about generalities and school policies.

Burnham said any time a student is in a crisis situation, the administration tries to get whoever they can – guidance counselors, administrators or in this case an exceptional student educator – to come into the room and get control back of the classroom.

"The first thing you try to do is to talk them down and remove them from the room," Burnham said. "There are times when the situation continues to escalate. At the same time we're trying to call family members first."

According to the arrest report, a family member could not be reached.

"The very last resort is to call law enforcement," Burnham said. "And the police don't just walk in here and take a child away. If the child can't be calmed down then they take it to the next step."

And it usually has to last a long time, Burnham said.

Every time a police officer comes to the school doesn't result in an arrest, she said. And there are lots of times when similar situations happen that police are not called.

After continuing to struggle, the child was handcuffed to keep her from hitting, running away and from possibly hurting herself, according to the report. An additional officer, Allison Smith had to ride with the child in the back of the police car when she was taken to the police headquarters.

She was charged with disruption of a school function, battery on a school employee and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

The parent continued to be unreachable and the child was taken to the Highlands County Jail. A court date has been set, but the date is listed as confidential, according to the jail central records.

A counselor from the school eventually tracked down a relative and the parent was contacted.

Avon Park Police Chief Frank Mercurio could not be reached by press time for comment. A number provided for the parent was not in service.