Kentucky cop handcuffs kids as punishment

[Takket]

A deputy sheriff in Kentucky allegedly violated the rights of two children with disabilities by handcuffing them as a means of punishment, according to a federal lawsuit.

Kenton County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Sumner and Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn are named in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The Kenton County Sheriff’s Department says it will not comment until it reviews the lawsuit.

The children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, according to the lawsuit.

One of the incidents – involving an 8-year-old boy – was captured on video released by the American Civil Liberties Union. The third-grader could be seen crying out in pain in the video after the handcuffs were locked around his biceps. The video was recorded in the fall of 2014.










A second student, a 9-year-old girl, was also handcuffed twice in the fall of 2014, according to the lawsuit.
The children “experienced pain, fear, and emotional trauma, and an exacerbation of their disabilities” as a result of being handcuffed, according to the ACLU and attorneys for the children’s parents.

Kenyon Meyer, an attorney for the boy’s family, said the boy’s behavior is related to his ADHD.

“Handcuffs have no place in schools with little children who are having discipline issues,” Meyer said.

The ACLU is calling for an end to shackling children, saying it does more harm than good.

"Using law enforcement to discipline students with disabilities only serves to traumatize children,” Susan Mizner, disability counsel for the ACLU, said in a statement.

“It makes behavioral issues worse and interferes with the school’s role in developing appropriate educational and behavioral plans for them.”

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a declaration that handcuffing the children violated their rights.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/children-disabilities-handcuffed-means-punishment-lawsuit-alleges/story?id=32867989

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Freaking barbarians. n/t

[Archae]

2. When I was that age...(almost 50 years ago...)

I had ADD also.
(Fortunately I grew out of it.)

But we didn't have any of the policies in my small-town Wisconsin school, so my teacher ended up literally tying me to a chair.

That cop has no idea what's he's doing.

[pipoman]

4. I doubt the cop cares....

[KG]

5. cops -winning hearts and minds, one handcuffed toddler at a time!

[gratuitous]

6. When Libertarians yammer about the nanny state

Why do we need all these laws and regulations? Because someone, somewhere thought that handcuffing kids to chairs or shackling their little arms behind him by the biceps was a good idea: "There's no law against that!"

My only cavil with the lawsuit is that any award will come out of the public coffers and not out of the pockets of the wrongdoers. What sort of thought process goes through a man's mind when he decides, "You know, I'm just gonna cuff this little pischer's biceps together behind his back. That'll teach him a lesson!"

[Gothmog]

7. This will be a fun lawsuit to watch

[Lurks Often]

8. And fire the the teacher or whoever called the cops

They have no business being in the education field if they have to call the police to deal with an 8 year old with ADHD.


The case will probably be settled out of court, I doubt the attorneys for the sheriff's department will take this to trial

[AngryOldDem]

9. I am so angry to the point of tears over this.

I saw this on TV just now.

My younger son is on the autism spectrum (he shows most signs of Asperger's) and since he entered school he, at times, has had some pretty rough days. If things get to him he can take a timeout to calm down -- and that helps him a lot. It also helps to have school staff who know how to interact with children like my son and this boy in the video, and know what to do when they see the kids getting overwhelmed.

This asshole, know-it-all deputy has no place in that school or around students. He doesn't need to boost his ego or "tough-guy" macho image by bullying and hurting an 8-year-old. I'm certain that this child, like my son, knows how to behave. But sometimes things get to be too much, and at an age where emotional control can be iffy anyway, you need people there who can calm and not inflame. The kid isn't acting that way to piss anyone off. I'm sure he, like my son, wants and tries to behave like he is expected to, and it's hard when, for whatever reason, he can't. He does not need an ignorant cop giving him a lecture and slapping fucking handcuffs on his BICEPS to teach him a lesson.

Ever since all this shit involving cops started, I've been trying hard not to paint all of them with the same, broad brush. I'm sure plenty of them are fine, upstanding human beings. But right now I'm wondering what the hell kind of sociopaths we have wearing badges.

I hope these lawsuits succeed and this sheriff can't even get a job working merchandise patrol at Wal-mart. Fuck him.

When most people don't understand (or care to understand) ADHD, or spectrum disorders, or Asperger's...and chalk up the behavior they see to being a brat, they don't know how hard that makes it for both the child and his family.