Sheriff's deputy shackled elementary school students who had disabilities

The Joker

The Joker

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A Kentucky deputy sheriff restrained two elementary school children with disabilities using handcuffs, shackling their arms behind their backs and causing them pain and emotional trauma, a new federal lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Children's Law Center and law firm Dinsmore & Shohl in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on Monday, Kevin Sumner, a Kenton County deputy sheriff and school resource officer in Covington, restrained the 8-year-old boy once and 9-year-old girl twice in three separate incidents last fall.

A video released by the ACLU shows an officer, identified as Sumner, shackling the boy, identified as S.R. in the lawsuit, with handcuffs clasped around his biceps inside the vice principal's office at the school.

"You don't get to swing at me like that," Sumner can be heard telling the crying third grader as he is handcuffed. "You can do what we ask you to or you can suffer the consequences."

An unidentified member of the school's staff videotaped the Nov. 13, 2014, incident, the ACLU said.

According to the lawsuit, the 52-pound boy, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was restrained by Sumner for 15 minutes.

http://news.yahoo.com/sheriff-shackled-handcuffs-school-children-disabilities-video-191928430.html

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Joker, are you going to resisting the arrest?
 
I saw this on the news this morning, totally heartbreaking. How can anyone think treating a kid like that will improve their behavior?
 
I wonder if this child will take swipe again..has all this been diagnosed after incident or before...not nice to see but I like to have seen what lead up to it and why you need cops in school for disabled children plus why child not in class for what reason he in the office..lot of unanswered questions
 
caz said:
I wonder if this child will take swipe again..has all this been diagnosed after incident or before...not nice to see but I like to have seen what lead up to it and why you need cops in school for disabled children plus why child not in class for what reason he in the office..lot of unanswered questions
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The biggest question I have is why the school called a police officer to deal with it instead of the parents, or just leveraged staff on hand...

I mean a 52lb kid isn't going to exactly be a problem for any full grown adult. There's no way that squirt was a real threat to anyone there, but they treated him like a criminal instead of like a brat kid who was throwing a temper-tantrum. There's no way that's right under any circumstance that doesn't include possession of a deadly weapon. An unarmed 52lb 8 year old just isn't dangerous enough to warrant this reaction.

I do get that the kid needs structure, but this isn't structure, it's mental abuse.
 
I think it's terrible...and I've also heard of a 98 year old woman handcuffed and shackled....say what?...and a diabetic that was tased, thrown to the pavement, cuffed and put into a police car...they thought he was drunk...and he almost died in jail for lack of insulin. even begging for a candy bar to no avail....

Guessing it goes to say...no matter how young, old or sick you are...:roll:
 
rockin'robin said:
I think it's terrible...and I've also heard of a 98 year old woman handcuffed and shackled....say what?...and a diabetic that was tased, thrown to the pavement, cuffed and put into a police car...they thought he was drunk...and he almost died in jail for lack of insulin. even begging for a candy bar to no avail....

Guessing it goes to say...no matter how young, old or sick you are...:roll:
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There should been a lawsuit on that one
 
Nic said:
The biggest question I have is why the school called a police officer to deal with it instead of the parents, or just leveraged staff on hand...

I mean a 52lb kid isn't going to exactly be a problem for any full grown adult. There's no way that squirt was a real threat to anyone there, but they treated him like a criminal instead of like a brat kid who was throwing a temper-tantrum. There's no way that's right under any circumstance that doesn't include possession of a deadly weapon. An unarmed 52lb 8 year old just isn't dangerous enough to warrant this reaction.

I do get that the kid needs structure, but this isn't structure, it's mental abuse.
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The boy was not having a temper tantrum , he has ADHD , some kids that have this are on meds to help them control their temper . He has a disability but I think the police has a bigger one!
 
Yep!...a friend of mine, her son had it very badly. ...he was on a lot of meds...When he became a pre-teen...oh my!...She was a single parent and I witnessed her having to physically restrain him many times. And he was twice her size. She had to drag him out of the bed when he wouldn't get up...had to fight him to take his meds...he often tore up his room....knocked holes in the walls...list goes on and on....

He's a lot older now (22)...and seems to be a lot better. He was hell on wheels growing up. Kudos to all Moms & Dads who have gone thru this.
 
Nic said:
The biggest question I have is why the school called a police officer to deal with it instead of the parents, or just leveraged staff on hand...
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Re-read the article. The cop was the School Resource Officer (SRO for short) and their primary assignment is working in the school anytime its in or students are there. They even have their own office.
 
ncff07 said:
Re-read the article. The cop was the School Resource Officer (SRO for short) and their primary assignment is working in the school anytime its in or students are there. They even have their own office.
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Ya but an SRO isn't there to punish kids... So why was he called in to do that? It's not like a 52lb 8 year old is a real threat to anyone.
 
Nic said:
Ya but an SRO isn't there to punish kids... So why was he called in to do that? It's not like a 52lb 8 year old is a real threat to anyone.
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a very disruptive kid is a threat to anyone.... people can get hurt
 
Nic said:
Ya but an SRO isn't there to punish kids... So why was he called in to do that? It's not like a 52lb 8 year old is a real threat to anyone.
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This was the wrong move, I agree on that. However, when you have a child out of control any move you make as a school is a wrong move by society...
 
Jezie said:
This was the wrong move, I agree on that. However, when you have a child out of control any move you make as a school is a wrong move by society...
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That's probably true. Leave them alone to go crazy and people would complain. Hold them down people would complain. Put them in timeout, probably still complainers, then that might not always be possible.

Not sure if there is a good move. Maybe call parents and see what they will approve?
 
Nic said:
That's probably true. Leave them alone to go crazy and people would complain. Hold them down people would complain. Put them in timeout, probably still complainers, then that might not always be possible.

Not sure if there is a good move. Maybe call parents and see what they will approve?
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OMG yes...I'm on a bunch of disabilty related sites.....a while back there was whining about seclusion or restraining of kids..... there ARE kids who actually do need that sort of stuff.....
 
Nic said:
The biggest question I have is why the school called a police officer to deal with it instead of the parents, or just leveraged staff on hand...

I mean a 52lb kid isn't going to exactly be a problem for any full grown adult. There's no way that squirt was a real threat to anyone there, but they treated him like a criminal instead of like a brat kid who was throwing a temper-tantrum. There's no way that's right under any circumstance that doesn't include possession of a deadly weapon. An unarmed 52lb 8 year old just isn't dangerous enough to warrant this reaction.

I do get that the kid needs structure, but this isn't structure, it's mental abuse.
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1This what said what cops doing at school in first place 2if kid had ADH where was special needs helper .3 they felt it so bad they had to film it.(do I feel a suing coming on)I would thought proffesinals could handle this and over ride cop.
one way find out if got ADH you give medication in first place if it works then kid has ADH and you go on have mri scan if not then not got ADH..
This kid got some brain dysfunction or he one little brat..More to this
 
Jiro said:
a very disruptive kid is a threat to anyone.... people can get hurt
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Yeah but there are better ways to deal with the child , his parents should had been called and the police looked strong enough to had held the boy still with his hands and not shackled him like he had gun .
My daughter worked with kids that had ADHD and my daughter only weight
112 lb. and is about 5 ' 6" and she was able to control a kid and use any
handcuffs. It take having a brain working with kids that have ADHA which is something the cop does not have.
 
deafdyke said:
OMG yes...I'm on a bunch of disabilty related sites.....a while back there was whining about seclusion or restraining of kids..... there ARE kids who actually do need that sort of stuff.....
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For older kids with disabilities, this gets scarier. In a past life I worked at a grocery store and we employed a bunch special ed kids who were highschool age and older. There was a partnership with a local intermediate school; it helped these kids a lot to get work experience in the public. The school had someone working beside most kids for the first few days, but after that, they were mostly treated like normal employees.

For the most part they were a load of fun, some were good workers, others were huge slackers with giant smiles that let them get away with so much. But when some of them got angry, it wasn't like how most people get angry. They can lose control and when the "kids" are bigger than you it can be intimidating.

The school gave us some guidance on what to do in bad situations. We always tried to back off and give them space, tried to calm them down, keeping cool ourselves. Then lead them to a safe room away from a crowd of other people and just let them vent and be a friend instead of a foe. They always calmed down after a while and life went on.

There were some pretty hairy situations, but escalating a situation like that will only push people to lash out more. SpecEd kids, they need some slack. It's easy for them to end up in jail, or out on the streets. Cutting them slack, calming them down, and really talking to them... it can work.

Looking back on it, working with those kids was my favorite part of working in that store. I think a lot of folks I worked with would feel the same way.
 
wdys do you remember kids like this at school i dont yes you had couple who bounced off wall but that was it.ADHD i know going be shot down here but just because your kid a brat do not mean he has syndrome...Syndromes for everything if kid dont comply
 
caz said:
wdys do you remember kids like this at school i dont yes you had couple who bounced off wall but that was it.ADHD i know going be shot down here but just because your kid a brat do not mean he has syndrome...Syndromes for everything if kid dont comply
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The only kid I can remember in the reject class I was in was a boy that got under the teacher's desk everyday and announce what color underpants she was wearing . I bet any child that had ADHD was thought to be insane and locked up . I was thought to be retarded b/c of my hoh accent and I talked loud and was failing school . There was a boy that was being beaten the crap out off by his dad and the kid acted out a lot.
It well known in town but no one stepped in to help the boy, he was labeled a 'problem child' . That was so much easier to do than go after the drunk abusive dad.
 
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