The family of Salecia Johnson demanded that the Georgia city of Milledgeville change policy so that other children are not treated the same way.
Salecia was accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing furniture in an outburst at Creekside Elementary School. Police said she knocked over a shelf that injured the principal.
Police said when an officer tried to calm the child in the principal's office, she resisted and was handcuffed. The girl was charged with simple assault and damage to property.
Police Chief Dray Swicord said the department's policy is to handcuff people in certain situations.
"Our policy states that any detainee transported to our station in a patrol vehicle is to be handcuffed in the back and there is no age discrimination on that rule," he said. Read More
1 comments (read or post your own):
The proper protocol is to use restraint-trained staff hold and restrain the child with non-endangering force and contact, and to call an ambulance for mental-health assistance, at least everywhere I have taught.
Handcuffs could cause serious injury as a child struggles.
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