The family of a Georgia kindergartener says police went too far in restraining their child following a temper tantrum during school….she was handcuffed, taken by cop car to the local station, and charged with assault and damage to property. Click below to read the rest of the story.
The family of a Georgia kindergartener says police went too far in restraining their child following a temper tantrum during school. Police were called to restrain the Milledgeville, Ga. six-year-old after she began ripping pictures off of the walls and knocked over a book case during the tantrum; she was handcuffed, taken by cop car to the local station, and charged with assault and damage to property.
Although the child’s father is now asking officials why police were ever called to begin with, former prosecutor Tom Keniff says school administrators are put into a nearly impossible position when young children act out in such an extreme and violent way.
“I think [police] did their best to deal with a difficult situation … She needed to be restrained, not only to protect the school administrators and police, but more importantly to protect the six-year-old from herself,†said Keniff. “And in this day in age, who wants to be put in a position to have to put their hands on anyone else’s child, particularly a six-year-old?â€
Gregg Jarrett pointed out that many teachers are rightfully worried that legal action would be taken against them if they were to touch a child, even in an effort to restrain them. Therefore, is calling police the best solution in such a situation?
Ann Marie McAvoy said no, and that this instance illustrates a larger issue — this child likely has bigger problems at play that went unnoticed by school professionals and should have been caught before a “temper tantrum†ever escalated to this level.
