They handcuff 5 year-olds in Ohio too
Handcuff incident to be probed
Ohio police handcuff 5-year-old after bus fight
Izell Finch, a kindergarten student in the Hamilton County School District, was restrained by a school bus driver and then handcuffed by two police officers. Mekel Finch, the boy’s mother, has filed suit against the driver, the two officers, the bus company and the City of Cincinnati.
The suit accuses the bus driver of grabbing Finch around the neck, wrapping her legs around him and detaining him until Cincinnati police arrived.
Minutes later when officers [Douglas] Snider and [Kaneshia ] Howell arrived, the suit added, the child - who was hiding under one of the bus seats - was placed in and kept in handcuffs “for an unreasonable amount of time.” Video from a camera mounted inside the bus - a video the bus company has refused to share with Finch’s family and lawyer - could verify the allegations, the suit said.
The child was charged with no offense.
Police Chief Tom Streicher was unaware of the incident until notified of the court case on Tuesday. He has since put the two officers on desk duty and removed their police powers so they cannot carry weapons. He has also launched an internal investigation.
The suit explains that Finch was detained by the bus driver after being struck by another boy. The bus company has reviewed the security tape and concluded that there was nothing untoward in the driver’s handling of the situation.
Finch said her son now has nightmares.
“He’s just really going through a lot right now,” she said.
I certainly hope a judge can step in quickly enough and order that the tape at least be held by the court until a hearing can be held on what to do with it. Otherwise, the tape might “accidentally” get erased.
What was the child doing in the first place?
Apparently another child punched him in the back. There’s no mention of why the bus driver was holding him for the police.
So he got handcuffed because someone hit him? What did they do to the one that hit him? Throw him out of the bus and back over him?
The fact they won’t release the tape suggests they fear legal problems and it wasn’t handled properly. I’m surprised they didn’t use their weapons on the kid…(Perhaps they will issue pepper spray to use against 5 year olds who throw trantrums on buses..)
What Do You Do When You Have Trouble With A 5 Year Old In A School Bus?
Why, of course, you use two officers to handcuff him..
How do you restrain a child until the cops come at the same time the kid is hiding under the seat?
Despite what people think, cops aren’t usually all that eager to get physical. The kid was causing enough of the problem that the cops felt it was justifiable to handcuff a kindergartener. It’s probably not the first time he acted like that either. Chances are the mother is making such a big deal out of it because she wants to take the focus off the child’s behavior. If he’s getting in trouble with the cops at that age, she probable raised him to be a spoiled brat.
Way to go Geriant….Spoken like someone who doesnt have kids and would probably eat them if you did. The fact that the officers have been assigned to desk duty and their guns taken away speaks volumes. I really doubt that if they were justified in their actions, they would have been assigned to desk duty.
The thing that gets me is that when the police arrived, the kid was hiding under one of the bus seats. WOW……A terrorist in the making.
I just thought i would tell you another ohio story that concerned a child. Im from Michigan, and on Thursday aug 17, 06 i was pulled over for going 86 on 1 75. As soon as the police officer came up to the window, i told him i need to get my daughter to a hospital, told him the long story about my ride from kentucky picking her up , my daughter is 16 and was throwing up in a bag, crying in pain, he seen this, he says, When was the last time you got a ticket? i said i dont no maybe 3 years ago for no seatbelt. he says well your getting one today. i was like i dont care if i get one or not my daughter is not doing that good, he STILL did not say one word about my daughter, he says well since your from michigan, the state of ohio says you have to pay your bond now, so i pulled out a 100.00 and he says we dont except cash. i said i dont have my credit card on me, he says well looks like your going to jail, so i ask and what about my daughter, he says she can come and sit in the lobby until you get this matter resolved. Longer story short version, i found my debit, told him what i thought about how he handled it, Did 90 to get my daughter to michigan where she is in the hospital admitted for a sever kidney infection and has been since two hours after i was pulled over. Now , he looked liked he just got out of diapers himself but i will say he has not heard the last of me. i will be there for my court date and then im marching my butt over to the station. And from what i have just read, they need more training or there is alot of bad judgement calls on their part.
I agree that the cops on the bus incident may have done the wrong thing, by hancuffing a kid who was hiding when they got there. But, dont judge all cops by each incident. Sure there are many bad cops out there, but there are also alot of good cops. There are times where a police officer has to put a young child in handcuffs for safety of the child and themselves. I have two kids myself, and have been around kids. There are some who throw hissy fits where they kick anywhere and will bite you anywhere. Putting them in handcuffs, are a restraining tool, so they dont hurt themselves or anyone else. Plus, don’t you think that is a good lesson to the kid when he was bad?