Here we go again….A Kansas City cop handcuffed a second grader for crying about being bullied.
According to the ACLU of Missouri:
The ACLU of Missouri has filed a lawsuit in federal court today against the Kansas City Public Schools on behalf of a child who was handcuffed by an elementary school resource officer in 2014.
Kalyb Wiley Primm, 7, was handcuffed for more than 15 minutes while waiting in the principal’s office for a parent to arrive after he was removed from class, handcuffed, and pushed down a hallway after he cried out in response to being bullied in his classroom. At the time, he stood less than 4 feet tall and weighed less than 50 pounds.
“This child committed no crime, threatened no one, and posed no danger to anyone,” said ACLU of Missouri Legal Director Tony Rothert. “Gratuitously handcuffing children is cowardly and violates the constitution.”
The incident also violated state policy, which says that the use of restraints for elementary and secondary students should be used only in extreme circumstances or emergencies.
After this incident, Kalyb was so scared to return to school that his mother withdrew him. He was homeschooled for the next two years.
The officer in question says that he handcuffed Primm because he was “out of control in his classroom and refused to follow my directions.”
What actually happened was that Primm, who is hearing-impaired, was being teased and bullied by his classmates for his condition. Obviously disturbed, Primm acted out by crying, hence disrupting the class. He was told to go out in the hallway, where he continued to cry. The officer told him him to stop crying, he didn’t. So, the cop decided the only way to handle the situation was to put a 50 pound child in handcuffs, push him down the hall and sit him in the principal’s office until a parent picked him up.
Primm sat in the office for 15 minutes, still handcuffed.
The ACLU has named the school district, principal and police officer in the lawsuit.
You can read the entire complaint here.
via HipHopWired
