MalloryKeaton

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti...18135809990003

Updated: 02:58 PM EST
Police Handcuff, Arrest 5-Year-Old Girl
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St. Petersburg, Fla. (March 18) - A 5-year-old girl was arrested, cuffed and put in back of a police cruiser after an outburst at school where she threw books and boxes, kicked a teacher in the shins, smashed a candy dish, hit an assistant principal in the stomach and drew on the walls.The students were counting jelly beans as part of a math exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary School when the little girl began acting silly. That's when her teacher took away her jelly beans, outraging the child.

Minutes later, the 40-pound girl was in the back of a police cruiser, under arrest for battery. Her hands were bound with plastic ties, her ankles in handcuffs.

"I don't want to go to jail," she said moments after her arrest Monday.

No charges were filed and the girl went home with her mother.

While police say their actions were proper, school officials were not pleased with the outcome.

"We never want to have 5-year-old children arrested," said Michael Bessette, the district's Area III superintendent.

The district's campus police should have been called to help and not local police, he said.

Bessette said campus police routinely deal with children and are trained to calm them in such situations.

Under the district's code of student conduct, students are to be suspended for 10 days and recommended for expulsion for unprovoked attacks, even if they don't result in serious injury. But district spokesman Ron Stone said that rule wouldn't apply to kindergartners.

"She's been appropriately disciplined under the circumstances," he said.

The girl's mother, Inda Akins, said she is consulting an attorney.

"She's never going back to that school," Akins said. "They set my baby up."

03/18/05 13:45 EST

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

holla

Maybe that was a bit much, but I think parents anymore don't know how to be a parent.
Why was she acting like that?

Lain

Man, all for taking away a bunch of jellybeans. Well, serves her right, she was the one who was misbehaving in the first place and this is how she behaves after a bunch of jellybeans?!?

And how did they set up the child?

sum1

Gimme a break, this is a FIVE year old. And who knows what sort of problems she might have. A little more patience and sympathy can go a long ways, people.

And this increasing business of dragging police into ordinary school disturbances is abominable and worrying.

And putting a poor five year old through the trauma of being arrested, handcuffed and thinking she's going to jail... it's just plain disgusting.

TokyoNiGHTS

The parent was clearly exagerrating their comments, but I can understand what they're talking about. I doubt many parents would want their kids going ot a school that'd call the police on their kid and have them handcuffed for doing basically what all kids do when they don't get their way. Anytime I did something bad in school at that age i'd just have to sit in a corner by myself, and I learned my lesson quickly. You don't need to call the police on kids like that.

Lain

I don't believe in kids as young as five being arrested. Really. But in my opinion, the thing is, as far as I know, this girl went nuts. I know, kids are kids and they can get a little rowdy but she's gone a step further than what kids normally do. I mean hey, kids throw tantrums and probably create a little fuss but here's something that kids wouldn't more likely do:

Hit the adults: It's normal for kids to pound their fists (different from punching mind you) but the kid actually kicked someone right on the shins

Everything else, I think it's normal for a 5 year old to throw stuff around...AT HOME!! I never heard of a case when it actually takes place at school.

*Lauren

Some people also seem to be forgetting that it sounds like this area had something set up for a situation exactly like this. Campus police. People who are speficilly trained to deal with this stuff. But they called the cops, who didn't know what they were doing and ****ed the situation up.

phyco52

this is weird.........and who called the local police instead of the campus police.........and another thing........what school has a campus police with 5 year-old children at them

sum1

Who says the kid was normal? There's a heckuva lot of kids who act odd and people show them no understanding and later it turns out they've some problem or other and the lack of sympathy or patience has made it worse. Patience and understanding can go a long ways, but people often act like they think its wasted on kids.

Heck, in the very least, the kid might have some problems in some other part of her life, or emotional issues or whatever. An attempt to find out why she reacted so strongly would be a heckuva lot better than this police state approach. But then, knowing how crappily and thoughtlessly so many teachers act, I'm hardly surprised how things turned out. The mother's right to take the kid out of that school.

Lain

I didn't say the kid was normal. I'm saying kids at that age have a tendency to throw a tantrum and throw things around, and can even go as far as to drawing on the wall at some point. That's what's normal for kids her age. However, socking the assistant principal right on the stomach and kicking the teacher in the shins...is that what you consider normal? I understand if she pounded her fists on the teacher as how she would do it on the floor but this?

I agree that there is a good chance that she may have some emotional problems going on. However, I would like to know the other side to this story but it's highly unlikely that we would. From what the mom said, I can only wonder...like i said in my first post...how did the school set her up?

mh67511

Imagine having to babysit for this girl The mothers comments don't surprise me. Of COURSE they set her baby up! So many parents these days wont accept anyone telling them that their child is not a perfect angel. I'm not saying that it was ok for the police to come in, but if the child wasn't being a complete maniac this wouldn't have happened. Great parenting skills mom!

They should have stuck her in the office and called her mother to take her home. I also think they should have suspended her for a few days; that way the mom would have to arrange for child care and it would teach a good lesson to the mom and daughter.

When I was in 4th grade this crazy kid ran over and started strangling me and going crazy in class! The principal came up, lifted this kid up and carried him kicking and screaming to the office. And they called the police too, but this was when I was like 8 or so.

Galaxia21

Oh by taking her jellybeans away - that's how. They should have known that would enrage her and turn her into the HULK.




The mother needs to spank that child rather than coddle her.

No one wants to arrest a 5 year old but what else could they do.. I mean they should have had the mother come up there but I guess there was no time and she was being extremely violent - she broke a candy dish. What if she had picked up some glass and started stabbing kids or the adults? And the teachers couldn't spank her without having assault charges on their ass. I'm sorry but if a kid did that I would have grabbed her and contained her in a closet or something if I knew I couldn't spank her. And if the mother said anything I woulda punched her lights out.


After that sort of hissy fit containment till someone could get her would be definitely called for.

Back in the old days if her parents didn't sign a paper saying no paddlings that little girl would have gotten some licks that's for sure.

The Survivor

ITA. If I ever acted outline I got spanked. If I was the girl I would have been spanked. Hell when I have kids and they ever acted like a spanking they would get when they got home.

*Lauren

Teaching a child not to be violent, is of course, to hit her, therby showing her that violence is the answer. Great logic!

*Ledi*

Seriously.


Is it just me or are too many young kids getting arrested in the US? I'm begining to think this is a trend or something?