NEWS: 5 Year Old Girl Arrested, Handcuffed Following Outburst

It all started with a lesson in counting. The students were given jellybeans, and when one girl started to act silly, the teacher took her jellybeans away. That's when the little girl went berserk. The police were called to remove her; they bound her and took her away in their patrol car. The school officials said that while they regretted the incident, they followed protocol. The little girl's mother is outraged, and is consulting an attorney.



They never should have touched her jellybeans... Just when you think you've heard it all, you see a headline like Five Year Old Arrested in Jellybean Dispute.

In this case, the list of damage caused by the girl is extensive, and anybody who has kids will testify they can be real hellions when provoked. It's not clear whether the police put the restraints on her to stop her from hurting herself, or to stop her from hurting them. The police would obviously not want to hurt the little girl, and so I would assume they restrained her until she calmed down, ostensibly to prevent her from injuring herself. Still, I have to believe there are better ways than plasticuffs on the wrists and handcuffs on the ankles, if one wants to calm down a small child. If a parent handcuffed their own child they would most certainly be brought up on charges of abuse.

The mother is angry, understandably. She claims the school set her daughter up, and she is consulting an attorney. My prediction is that the fur will fly, and the school, the police, and probably the teacher specificaly will be forced to settle out of court in a timely fashion. This case begs the question, what exactly are the boundaries of the school's responsibility? What are the acceptable limits of in school discipline? How would you have handled the situation if you were in the teacher's shoes?

the shame!

how could that cop even consider applying cuffs? because they cannot restrain the child cos they may over power them or outfox them by running away...

this is totally unneccesary but the cop should expect the grilling he/she will get for this!

I am surprised that the school called the police and not the childs parents to tell the truth....

"Just when you think you've heard it all, you see a headline like Five Year Old Arrested in Jellybean Dispute. "

...Great line.

So tell me, Is this a police state? ...I'm torn between laughing and looking over my shoulder. I mean, if 5 year-olds get arrested for tantrums, what chance do mouthy adults have?

When I though I hear it all this comes alone, I tell you the next thing is when the first toddler will be handcuff and arrested for throwing a temper tantrum.

This is ridiculous, If I was the mother I would sue the entire state for pain and suffering.

First of all , why didnt they ring her parents first ? I can't see why any school would call the cops for a 5 year old girl no matter how she acted.

I've seen ridiculous. This is ridiculous. Its obscenely ridiculous.
Pathetic. Thats what its come down to.

Cuffing a little girl?

Damn, why were the police even called?

What are they supposed to do, give her a quick shot of liquid knuckles to calm her down? Jeez. Cops ahve better stuff to do than this. Really, I've seen five year olds go nuts, and I wish I had cuffs that summer I was a camp counsellor. That way, you keep them from hurting themselves or others, and you can get everything else straightened out.

DE

Police state?
Not seeing it.

What would you do as the officer when confronted with:

A 5-year-old girl was arrested, cuffed and put in back of a police cruiser after an outburst at school where she threw books and boxes, kicked a teacher in the shins, smashed a candy dish, hit an assistant principal in the stomach and drew on the walls.

You going to spank her to get her to cease, all the while, risk being sued?
You going to constrain her? How? Physically? Another chance at being sued?

Think I want to see or read about a 5yo child getting handcuffed (?), but under the circumstances, please....most of you would have done what? Nothing? Let her continue her uncontrolled fit of rage? Make her take a nap? Go stand in the corner?

Personally, she is lucky they didn't put her in a straight-jacket, because her actions indicated that her "tantrum" was borderline uncontrolled rage.




seekerof

[edit on 18-3-2005 by Seekerof]

Wow..how did I manage to get a negative vote on what appears to be a well constructed story? Is it just that it belongs in the forum in the opinion of some? Can it be moved there immediately, and curtail the agonizing process of waiting? Just curious...

Move along, nothing to see here citizen. Your children are not at our mercy. Your rights have not been violated. All your kids are not belong to us.

Well I could tell you what my parents would have done to me if I acted out that way in school. Kicking a teacher? Oh boy. I think I would have preferred the patrol car!

What's wrong with kids these days anyway. No discipline in the home? Used to getting whatever they want, when they want it? Geez

Humm...I sure learned what "NO" meant, and was reminded frequently. And I'm thankful my parents taught me that lesson early in life.

Unfortunately, the schools hands are tied on this. They get sued these days if they even put a kid in the corner for christsakes.

Should the girl have been bound and taken away by the cops - No, but if they're threatened by lawyers every time they have to respond to an incident, the easiest (and safest) thing to do is just call the police and have THEM deal with it.

Seems that's what it comes to.

SEEKEROF, while you dont see anything else, but what the cops did could have contained this 5 year old, it speaks volumes of you.
Jeeez...How were kids contained before? How were all those kicking, crying kids controlled?
Your response of "Oh well" really bothers me no end.

Kids could always be controlled before without the help of "cops"
Specially 5 year olds. Give me a break.

Way to go....pass the buck to the cops, so they get to be the bad guys. This isn't a police state, it's lawyers run amok.

Once again, cops have an ugly job to do, and stories like this just make it harder.

DE

This story doesn't surprise me at all. Boys are so much easier to raise than girls.

Obviously and apparently, this happened in a school environment, dgtempe. The school was not willing to risk the reprecussions of constraining this uncontrolled, rage-infected child. The cops were called. The cops doing what he/she has to do within the confines of NOT BEING SUED....just as the school.

Your blaming the wrong people here. The cop is doing his/her job.
Your problem should be with the school and the parents.
Then compound it with what DuesEx said (which I wholeheartedly agree with).




seekerof

[edit on 18-3-2005 by Seekerof]

Your problem should be with the school and the parents.

Exactly! Place blame where blame is due, Lazy parents and Lazy Teachers........ the Cops were just doing thier job that they have to do, I do not agree that they should have been called but they were and they had to act, or they could have faced reprecussions.

"The mother is angry, understandably. She claims the school set her daughter up, and she is consulting an attorney."

Oh please. This child evidently has some serious problems that, more than likely, have been acted out in the home or elsewhere. This isn't a one time incident set off by the removal of jelly beans. My, what a harsh punishment.

Hopefully, Child Protective Services or some agency will check out the home life of this whacked out girl. I'm sure there is MUCH more going on here.

Seekerof,

I'm not stupid. My problem is with the school, the teacher, and all those sick sick people involved in this situation.

I do think the cops may have taken it just a little far by handcuffing her and treating her like an animal?????

Seekerof obviously you have not children because how can you agree with something like that.

I have been a teacher for many years and I started with kindergarten, never ever in my years as a school teacher I have witness something so outrageous as a hand cuffing of a 5 year old.

I have witness how we have to call the office to bring somebody to remove the child and taken to the office until the parent is called, "no the police"

Sometimes I wonder Seekerof from what country you are coming from, because in my country and in my schools we have never ever had witnessed something as outrageous as this.

This kid some psycho-active allergy for the artificial flavours/colours of the Jellybeans or were it Mexican Jumping beans ?

While handcuffing a 5 year old seems pretty below own standard for a grown man to do, but suppose that kid was really totally beserk, I can just picture you drive the car and she bites you in your ear or something, you lose control over the steeringwheel.....

anyways, that kid put up some fight, she should enlist for the marines, or do audition for Home Alone 6

[edit on 18-3-2005 by Silenus]

Would this situation be any better if the police held her until her parents got there? Put yourself in their position, It is not there job to watch a little girl get out of control, they need to assess the situation and get her to calm down and if she gets worse, then do what you got to do.

I for one, as a parent, say that those in charge of watching of my kids need to do what is the best interest of keeping her safe and others around her. If it means arresting her, then make sure there was ABSOLUTELY no other solution.