Handcuffing a 5 year old girl - America!

[smudge]

I've just heard on the radio that 3 to 4 police officers in America, handcuffed a 5 year old girl. I switched on Sky News just to clarify what I'd heard & it showed  this actually happening!

Although the little girl's face was obscured, you could clearly see that she was terrified by her the sound of her whimpering/crying & would have been unable to escape these burly bullies.

I realise that this little girl has must have done something wrong, but surely whatever it was, didn't warrant this kind of treatment. Perhaps a good talking to would have been sufficient.

What are your views on this?

[rojash]

PLEASE don't get me started on the US justice system - I thought the UK was bad enough until I started reading the New York Times.

[kaktus]

That is just disgusting! She five years old, a policeman should be able to tuck under his/hers arm! Even if she did something wrong, she is five years old, either she didn't do it on purpose or she had no idea she was doing anything wrong! What were they thinking?

[kaktus]

Just read what she did, apparently she refused to participate in a math class, and started to hit out at the teacher, they called the girl's mother but she couldn't get there right away so they called the police!!!! This is just insane!

[sunflower68]

Smudge I can't believe this and in a way I don't think I want to hear it.  It's disgusting. The poor little girl.

[spikeybob]

Typical Americans lets go in over the top as usual because we are the best at everything, unless of course she was a goddam commie pinko subversive its worked for the Americans before , lets hope the little girl can get over it

[Artful]

Golly, I was just this minute reading your post, smudge, when the item came up on the news - horrific. Apparently she was being a little hyper and the teacher decided not to call for medical or psychological backup and that the police would be more efficient!

I'm sorry but I shall say no more about it; unfortunately the Americans (or perhaps the US system) never cease to amaze me...

[pjm007]

what a disgusting way to treat a child!!...typical yanks!!

[Clanad]

I'm not the spokesman for America, however just as many Americans are outraged over this incident as Brits... this is not an exclusively U.S. problem.  You'll have to admit that there have been several outrageous incidents described in these various forums... all in the UK.  To put this in perspective... this was one or two policemen responding in an astoundingly inappropriate way to a situation that one teacher should have been able to resolve.  The one saving factor in the whole matter is that the child will certainly be able to go to any university she desires when she reaches that age since the parents will own the school and the cities police department when her attornies are finished with it...

[kazza12345]

Sorry, but as i was reading this it came on the news ...

where were the parents? is my first question

Secondly, i can't really see what all of you are making a fuss about - the girl was clearly being violent, and what you are saying is that its ok not to restrain someone when they are being a danger to others?

[FP]

A five year old child is merely a baby!  I really cannot imagine this taking place in the UK whatever the circumstances.  I am sure a couple of policemen could restrain a five year old girl without resorting to handcuffs.   I am sure if it happened over here the policemen involved would be suspended.  Is that likely to happen in the States, Clanad?

Kazza, the child was at school and the mother was called, but could not get there in time, as Kaktus has explained in her second posting.

[ALLO]

as an american i must say that they cuffed her to keep her from hurting herself. if you could have seen the lil girl you would be shocked. she looked like she was possesed. i'm not saying they were rite. it is trully a sad situation.

[Romeo]

But spare a thought for the teacher. The teacher is not allowed to physically restrain or punish a violent child and is forced to follow the official procedure by sending for the parent or, if the parent is unobtainable, the police. Still, the police could have used less severe methods.

[kazza12345]

Sorry, but i still think you are all overreacting

i guess the mother will  be sueing the police next for emotional trauma or whatever, never thinking that the childs behaviour is her fault, and the way she has been brought up!

[Dagman]

If the kid was violent and could do harm to herself or others, cuffing is fair enough, what do you want to do, have someone hold her down? then it's a case of touching her! leave her in a room alone, then it's neglect! get real, she'll get over it, we've all been scared as kids it's part of growing up, we've had nightmares etc, we grow up and forget it. Of course it's now money grabbing time so she won't be allowed to forget it so mom and dad can get rich, for which they will frighten her!  "hey, we get more money the worse she is, let's remind her!"

In reality how about, "thanks to the police department for teaching our daughter a lesson, she is thankfully unscathed and no-one came to harm in the incident. Oh and thanks to pc123 for allowing her to keep the cuffs as a memento of the day the police came to her assistance!"     

[kazza12345]

at last, a voice of reason!  also, if the girl is frightened, so what? hopefully it will make her think twice before acting so appalingly in future

[AB Editor]

deleted duplicate question:

The police officers overstepped the mark and grossly neglected their duty. They will be sacked. I am sure that like in this country where the detntion or restraint of a minor is taken with great seriousness, similar rules apply in the USA. A minor is treated with great caution in the UK, rightly so, with the risk of losing your job if you get it wrong. Now a 5 year old (so no basis for contesting the age) to be handcuffed and put in a van (i think they did it without an appropriate social worker present) is abhorrent and the officers deserved to be prosecuted and the big payout is in the offing. No excuses this time from the finest of the county.
Submitted By: Dom Tuk Date Submitted: Sat 23/04/05 
  
  
Never seen anything like it, unbelievable..

only in america.
 
Submitted By: luckyboy Date Submitted: Sat 23/04/05
 

[xixsy]

Kazza & Dagman...

Please tell me your' kidding. The girl is 5 years old! FIVE!!

Are you parents yourselves? Did your kids ever throw a fit? In the supermarket over some candy you wouldnt buy or at home over a meaningless battle of will? "Pick up your clothes from the floor!" - response: "No" - "Pick it up, i said" - response: "No" - and so it goes on for a while. What do you do?

1. Call the police
2. Beat her senceless with your leatherbelt?
3. Send her to her room/another room to cool of.

Yes thats right. You do NOT call the police.

Instead you send her to a room to cool off, wait for her mother to arrive, and you tell her that maybee her daughter is not ready for school just yet, and she should consider waiting another year so that she can gain more discipline.

But before that you try talking to the girl with empathy instead of constantly mumbeling "not acceptable" which a five year old can not understand

FFS - she is 5 years old. What did you expect? That she would come to reason and say - "ohh not acceptable - then i will stop this instantly". She knows she did something that was not good - you can see it by her reaction when the police arrives - which to me means that she was testing boundries and trying to get attention. It doesent make her a psycho and it doesent make her parents low-life ******* loosers.

And surely she should not be allowed to interrupt the education of the other children. What she is doing is - as it was clearly stated - not acceptable. But you take it up with the parents - and if they dont listen you let the authorities take it up with the parents.

You do not. You do NOT handcuff a child (hands and feet) and send her of the policestation. How the **** is she supposed to know what is going to happen there? All she knows is that she is being taken away from her normal environment. She is FIVE years old.

Thomas

[FP]

Thomas,

I share your thoughts.  I didn't realise they cuffed her feet as well, that makes it horrendous. 

Dagman, children do not easily forget.  It will make a terrible impression on her that will last forever.  I still remember being taken off to hospital and left without my parents when I was 2, in the days when it was thought that visiting parents would upset a child.  I still have flashbacks!

Children certainly have to take the knocks as well as the good things, but no child of 5 should have to experience this.

[FP]

When little children are out of control the best thing is to hold them in a tight cuddle and talk soothingly to them.  Unfortunately, these days you are too scared to cuddle a child in case of repercussions (I worked in a school), so teachers (and the police on this occasion) were in a difficult situation.   However, I still don't condone what did happen.

[redsauce]

I still can't believe a 5 year old girl hands and feet were cuffed following a (albeit pretty awful) tantrum.  What was the administration of this school thinking.  And - because they video taped it, you actually see that she had calmed down and was sitting in a chair when the police arrived.  The police actually lifted her out of the chair to cuff her.  That's when she started screaming again.  People like those in the video the school shot shouldn't be in education.

I have worked in schools that were considered "inner city."  I have seen children completely out of control.  In one instance actually throwing a chair at his teacher.  The situation was dealt with - without the police being involved. 

It is correct that teachers walk a fine line in terms of what is acceptable and how much physical contact they can have with students.  The video shows a pretty lack lustre attempt on the Assistant Principal's part to contain her tantrum. 

No one ever said the job of teaching was easy.  And - the behaviour exhibited from this little girl was pretty over the top.  Her behaviour definitely needed to be dealt with.  But from my own experience with my own kids and school kids, during a tantrum is not the best time.  Surely there was a "time out" place this little girl could have gone to so that she wasn't hurting herself or anyone else.

I only hope that the fallout from this situation ensures it doesn't happen again.  No  matter how you look at it, this is ridiculous outrageous behaviour from the so called "trained" adults in this situation.