E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe family of a 6-year-old Georgia girl is upset at police and school officials after the girl was handcuffed and taken to a police station for allegedly throwing furniture, tearing items off the walls and knocking over a shelf, which injured the principal.
"A 6-year-old in kindergarten?" Earnest Johnson, the father of Salecia Johson, asked with disbelief. "They have no business calling the police and handcuffing my child," he told WMAZ-TV.
Police defended their actions during the incident which occurred last Friday at Creekside Elementary School in Milledgeville, Ga.
"Our policy states that any detainee transported to our station in a patrol vehicle is to be handcuffed in the back. There is no age discrimination on that rule," Milledgeville Police Chief Dray Swicord told WMAZ-TV.
The family on Tuesday demanded that the city change its policy, the Associated Press reported, and claimed the girl was shaken up while at the police station.
The police officer called to the school later wrote that he "noticed damage to school property and possible assault of other students and staff. I made six attempts to contact her mother via telephone."
"I attempted to calm Johnson down," he wrote in his incident report. "Johnson then pulled away and began actively resisting and fighting with me."
The principal, Dianne Popp, said "a small shelf struck her in the leg while Johnson was throwing items at her," according to the police report, and that the girl "tried several times to get out of the office. Johnson was observed biting the door knob of the office and jumping on the paper shredder and attempted to break a glass frame above the shredder."
Johnson was charged with assault and damage to property, WMAZ-TV reported, but she will not have to go to court because of her age.
Johnson's mother, Constance Ruff, says her daughter was suspended until the start of the next school year.
"She has mood swings some days, which all of us have mood swings some days," she told WMAZ-TV. "I guess that was just one of her bad days."
Asked by msnbc.com if the suspension means the girl will be held back a year, a school official had "no comment" and said the principal would have to respond to that but was not immediately available due to school testing.
The school district superintendent, Geneva Braziel, called the student's behavior "violent and disruptive," the Associated Press reported.
Video: Student booted from pageant over gay remark
Video: Boy takes wheel of school bus after driver passes out
Johnson's aunt, Candace Ruff, said the girl "might have misbehaved, but I don't think she actually misbehaved to the point that she should have been handcuffed and taken downtown to the police department."
"Call the police? Is that the first step? Or is there any other kind of intervention that can be taken to help that child," she asked.
Ruff added that the girl was by herself in a holding cell and complained about the handcuffs when she and her sister went to get her.
"She said they were really tight. She said they really hurt her wrists," Ruff told the Associated Press. "She was so shaken up when we went there to pick her up."
Swicord, the police chief, denied the child was held in a holding cell, with the Associated Press reporting that he said she was held in the department's squad room and given a Coke to try to calm her down.
Watch a video report about a Colorado student who was handcuffed last month.
This isn't the first time we've seen schoolchildren handcuffed by police. In Colorado last month, a 6th grader was handcuffed and taken to a juvenile holding facility for disobeying an assistant principal and being "argumentative and extremely rude," according to the police report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
Georgia’s law requires children ages 7 & under who are 4’9” or less in
height to be restrained in a child passenger restraint system in a rear seat.
The article doesn't say whether the child was in such a system, but it seems unlikely... they put a six year old in handcuffs!
If she's out of control now at 6 years old, what will she be like at 16? If her parents don't get control of this situation, she'll be getting in bigger trouble down the road. Sad when kids rule the roost and parents are clueless.
I failed to see where she had any parents in this article - or at least ones that acted as such.
You're right but I didn't know what else to call them.
I love these comments about the article being wrong. Check again, there are 2 video for this article. One of the 6 yr old & one of the 6th grader they referenced in article.
You know what the school was right. The child was out of control and damaging property and hurting people. Perhaps the mother puts up with tandrums, but that does not mean everyone has to. Maybe it will put a scare into the child and maybe she will think twice before acting out like a brat. If they let this slide this child is heading for the wrong side of the tracks. The mother should be held responsible for all damages to the school and to the principle - send her the bills. That's the problem with parents today - it's always not my kid syndrome. They don't teach their children respect, manners or right from wrong. All they do is complain they have no time for their children, then blame teachers and law enforcement for the kids going bad.
Totally supportive of the police actions in this case. My only concern is that it is a tremendous waste of police resources if this becomes the school's answer for behavior problems.
Parents today don't discipline their children......and when the school system has to feel the raft of badly behaved children......what else are they suppose to do.
Used to be when I was young....if you got punished in school for doing something bad.......you knew that when your father got home.....you were going to get it again.
I wish these parents of today would realize that it is not our school system or government that is suppose to teach the children how to behave, and yes, maybe it's time to re-school the parents of the world that is not doing their job.
And oh...let me guess.......it was a black child...and the police officer was white?????? Tired of this crap too!!
This is exactly what should have happened, these kids have no respect for themselves or anyone else and the parents think its cute. This child is out of control and needs psychiatric help. The parents are no better they also need help. School is for learning and not trying to teach these kids how to act, that is the parents job. Good for this school, maybe some other parents will take the parents role to control these kids and not try to be friends.
I was about to go on a rant about how I didn't think this would have happened if the child was white.
However, when I started to think about how much crap parents let their kids get away with nowadays, I hope that on some level this will turn out to be a positive life-changing experience for the child.
Hopefully she'll learn that there are consequences for her actions and that she won't be able to get over on everyone like she does her parents.
It may seem unrealistic for a child that age to come to that realization, but not impossible.
Having said all that, I still believe that there are more black kids than white kids who get this kind of treatment.
However, instead of looking at it from the perspective that the black kids should be given as much leniency as the white kids...I now feel as though all the white/non-black kids should be treated just as harshly as the black kids.
If the parents aren't can't teach their kids how to behave, other alternatives must be taken.
That's cause you can't raise your children and suppress your primate instincts. Ya keep pointing the finger though that garners so much respect.
"That's cause you can't raise your children and suppress your primate instincts. Ya keep pointing the finger though that garners so much respect."
Not quite what you're getting at.
The parents failed in the kid's training,if it is not corrected now the kid will lead a life of trouble and could become a danger when adulthood is reached .
That translates to first kid of hers by say...13 yo
Whatever happened to a good old fashioned spanking? Millions of us grew up with that "threat" hanging over us and we turned out ok (for the most part). I'm not advocating child abuse in anyway, but when a kid gets out of hand, a little tough love is in order!
donald clayton, now we know what you are..... bro. I bet you acted like this brat when you were a kid.
Discipline and respect for others begins at home---MOM & DAD!!! You should be ashamed for your daughter and yourselves, not for the consequences of her actions.
I'm so sick and tired of parent's having children and then expecting the neighborhood to "raise" them and when they are old enough to go to school expect the teachers to continue "raising" someone else's child. Having a bad day??? Hell we all have bad days but the teacher and the other classmates are supposed to be at the receiving end of that little cow's bad day!! And another thing, the police officer said he tried 6 times to reach the mother and it was the aunt that came to pick this little cow up, dare I ask has anyone bothered to ask where the mother was during that time period? This little girl learned that behavior at home that's why they say she "must have been having a bad day"---puuleeeezzzzzz give me a break!!
It's funny that some of the same people that are saying that it's a good idea to handcuff a 6 year old child for having a tantrum,would be competely against it had it been THEIR 6 year old.Stop trying to make this CHILD a criminal simply for having a temper tantrum.This should have been handled differently.My GOD,if they're going to start arresting kids for having temper tantrums,our jails will be full.
This was not a "temper tantrum" - this was a child who was out of control, causing bodily harm and property damage -- putting herself and those around her in danger of injury.
You are right, though, it should have been handled much different--with a little good, old-fashioned parenting that would have addressed this issue before it became an issue.
Shari,
This was more than just a little temper tantrum. Other children could have been hurt along with adults with furniture flying and things being broken. She is a public nuisance and she be treated as such. I hope that the parents were billed for all of the damage to the school. Of course they're probably on welfare and cannot afford to pay but I digress.
In closing, this child has parents that do not understand how to parent and see no wrong in what the child did at school. "She was having a bad day or in a bad mood..." are you kidding? The parents are obviously uneducated and have no business having children.
Just becaause this CHILD had a "temper tantrum" doesn't mean that her parents aren't parenting things at home. This is a Child of 6 years old, not 16.
If my child was that out of control, I hope to God that someone is there to prevent her from injuring herself or God forbid someone else. Good Lord, how naive can you possibly be--obviously the police being called was a last resort.
Are you serious?! Throwing book cases, desks, biting at doorknobs, and trying to break glass are way past a little "temper tantrum". The parents could not be contacted probably because they didn't want to be contacted so the school was absolutely in the "right" to contact the police- the school had a duty to protect the other students and personnel as well as this child. Not only could she have seriously hurt another child but she could have seriously hurt herself.
As for you saying that I would have a different opinion if it were my child: I can honestly tell you that it would not have come to this. You see I would have answered my phone first of all. Secondly my children would not do this EVER because they have more respect and fear for the consequences that those actions would bring. You see...in my house actions DO have consequences.
Shari, of course I don't know your age but there's nothing like "giving" a child "something" to scream about. This is learned behavior that this little brat exhibited.
Great. Now this brat learns that what she did was okay, it's what the adults did that was bad. Just great.
This brat should have been drowned at birth and her mother spade.
Outstanding suggestion.
Are you suggesting her mother be hit with a shovel?
BOHICA, forget it, he's a totally lost cause.
Georgia’s law requires children ages 7 & under who are 4’9” or less in
height to be restrained in a child passenger restraint system in a rear seat.
The article doesn't say whether the child was placed in a safety system but it seems unlikely considering the handcuffs.
For those type of mood swings that was the most appropriate action for anyone.
Another example of why certain people should not have children. The parents are obviously ignorant, oblivious and cannot be bothered to parent their offspring. They blame everyone but themselves for their child's behaviour and actions. Take some damn responsibility for your child's actions and educate yourselves on being a parent. The rest of the world would also appreciate your using birth control to eliminate any future mishaps i.e. more children.
Stupid people having more stupid people....uggh. Enact a stupidity tax immediately!!!
Just a new THUG coming into bloom who will likely become a charter member of The New Black Panthers.
You sound soo miserable and hateful...I pray that you don't have children.
Did anyone else notice that they tried to calm her down by giving her a sugary, caffinated beverage?
-B.L.B.
Yes, and as counter-productive as that may seem at first it is actually quite commonly done. An overstimulated person can be calmed with the use of caffeine - ADHD medications are stimulant based.
Let me get this straight: this kid has a tantrum so bad to the point where she is pretty much assaulting the principal, damaging school property, and the POLICE need to intervene, and the parents are bitching and complaining about the kid being HANDCUFFED? Seems like that is the least of her worries--at the age of 6, they aren't going to do much more to her than subdue her and suspend her from school for a while--but those are just the short term consequences of what she has done--what about the long range consequences? I have a kid that age in 1st grade, I volunteer quite a bit at her school, and even some of the worst behaved kids in there, I'm pretty sure have never done that! This little girl is going to have serious problems further on down the line if her parents don't wake up and stop blaming everyone else for her issues. They are the biggest part of the problem!
Don't worry...this is another example of our welfare dollars at work. When I taught kindergarten in Georgia I went into a 4th grade class when my kids had specials to talk about career planning. I thought if the kids had a "why" then it would give them a focus. Had the kids go around and talk about what they wanted to do when they grew up. Out of 28 kids about half were girls and about 9 of the girls said they wanted to have a baby and go on welfare. I was shocked. I said that wasn't a job and you couldn't live off that permanently. They said their moms did- rent was controlled and covered by welfare housing food was covered by food services, cable was free, free phone, free healthcare- all they had to do was have a baby and they were fine. We are allowing poor people to be comfortable instead of striving to improve and welfare has become a family business/career path instead of a temporary measure. Coincidentally, that was about 15 years ago (I can't imagine things have improved much since then) and the day I went from registered democrat to republican.
Hope the kid was scared enough to learn something - such as "I'd better behave because I don't like jail" I don't know what else the school is supposed to do when the parents can't be reached. Just let her keep breaking things and hurt herself and other people?
sad story.I suspect this child has behavioral problems.Parents do anything?Better start pulling your weight around here people.You know who I'm talking about.That's why people "relocate"when the neighborhoods"change"...ALSO msn "reporters" please use the syntax that these folks used actually.I'd say the "quotes" were cleaned up.
My husband works at an elementary school. Because of the breakdown of the family, lots of kids these days are not taught respect, restraint, or any of the other common sense tools that are needed to be a functioning member of society. Lots of kids, yes, even 6 year olds, are rude, violent, and have no sense of what is right. I have no problem with the police teaching them a thing or two if parents will not.