Body camera video: 6-year-old girl cries, screams for help as Orlando police arrest her at school

[Person of Interest]

Last edited Wed Jun 16, 2021, 04:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Body camera video: 6-year-old girl cries, screams for help as Orlando police arrest her at school

http://bit.ly/3wycy5S


I know people will rightly get upset at the police officer, but the school faculty, staff and administers are most at fault.

There was once a time when an unruly, disruptive student was detained in the principal's office until a parent or legal guardian picked up the kid.

[TheBlackAdder]

1. Six years old? CPS would be investgating that school district & their lifetime scarring procedures.

[PatSeg]

2. I suppose there was plenty of blame to go around

but restraints on a six year old child? I think the officer went too far and apparently has done this before. His whole attitude was so cold and calculating. Apparently he has violated agency policy and has since been fired.

Orlando Police Department officials have said Turner violated agency policy on arresting children younger than 12, which requires officers to get a supervisor’s approval — something Turner did not do.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-ne-orlando-police-body-camera-6-year-old-arrest-20200224-rlg2ukttdvhehpoj2ki7irqe74-story.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=exchange&tblci=GiAq6DhA6OZUyiWXH_60XIduQSGOe4wljxQJU1NbX1IUQyCP3z8o9r7E5L7Mn4cn#tblciGiAq6DhA6OZUyiWXH_60XIduQSGOe4wljxQJU1NbX1IUQyCP3z8o9r7E5L7Mn4cn

He acted like she was just another suspect. That was chilling.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Note that this is not current. It's from a year ago. It's still wrong but ...

[cally]

4. I just can't watch it now

But I guess it’s an officer once again attacking and African American—-this time a child.

[pinkstarburst]

5. As a former teacher

I'm just really not understanding this new trend where the police are called on extremely young children. These kids should be detained in the principal's office, with the parent called. The police should not be a part of it. If it's a special ed situation... that is part of the child's medical condition and the school is supposed to be dealing with it during the school day Monday through Friday as per their IEP. Not calling the parent to come get them. Not calling the police.

[Person of Interest]

7. I couldn't agree with you more!! 👍

[Ocelot II]

6. Why am I not surprised the child is Black?

Back in the Pleistocene era when I was in grade school, a bratty kid got sent to the principal's office and maybe got sent home. I never, ever saw cops in school, even in high school. You acted up, you cooled your heels in an office and your parents were called. There's something wrong with school administrators who'd call the police on a misbehaving six-year-old.

[Person of Interest]

9. I only saw cops on the campus of my junior or high school...

following a very serious altercation between a student and
faculty or staff. And I certainly never saw cops at my elementary school.

[hedda_foil]

12. Everyone involved including the officer and charter school staff were black.

There's just no excuse for calling the cops to arrest a small child. Absolutely none!

[Ocelot II]

13. Then there's something really wrong with the whole thing.

Why on earth would school administrators call the cops on a misbehaving child, and why would the cop be so mean about it? Makes no sense at all to me.

[Niagara]

8. I explicitly remember this story from 2020

I remember Sheshe2 had created an OP about this. A year later, it's still heartbreaking and infuriating to watch.




https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213599950



All children have meltdowns. I know that I certainly did at this age.



However, the Florida House did pass the 'Kaia Rolle Act' To Curb Arrest Of Children, which can be read here.

https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2020-03-04/house-passes-kaia-rolle-act-to-curb-arrest-of-children

[Niagara]

10. Oh yeah, I almost forgot.

Welcome to DU, Person of Interest.

[teach1st]

11. Student meltdowns have become more numerous and violent

I'm writing this only in response to the comments that children have always have had meltdowns, which is true, but doesn't account for the level of violence in meltdowns currently as opposed to those of ten or more years ago.

I taught elementary for 31 years, all K-5. For most of that time, there were rarely meltdowns that necessitated teachers abandoning the classroom with all of their other students. Lately, it's not so rare. I've seen chairs flung into windows and thrown at students and adults. I've seen classrooms destroyed. The meltdowns lately are much more numerous, violent, and prolonged.

I don't believe that arresting these children is the answer. I've been lucky to work at schools with good staff who understood how to best deal with these episodes. That said, I've seen situations where I wouldn't have blamed educators for calling in police. However, these situations shouldn't end in handcuffs or arrests.

[Ocelot II]

14. In extreme cases involving a very violent teenager it might be justified.

But a six-year-old?

[teach1st]

15. What do you do when a six-year-old is destroying computers?

I've seen that. I've picked up young kids who posed a danger to themselves and carried them to a safer spot. But I subjected myself to a lawsuit (it went against policy, for one thing). De-escalating a serious meltdown can take a long time. During that time, the child can harm themself.

[Ocelot II]

16. The police, of all people, are the least qualified to deal with a little kid

who's having a violent meltdown like that. That's obvious from the OP's video. Here's a kid who apparently has problems already, and being taken away by the police will only make her problems worse. Someone trained to deal with troubled kids is needed, not a mean cop.

[teach1st]

18. Not all cops

Many cops are good with kids. And I'm not arguing for being taken away by police. Again, a good staff usually can take care of things, usually acting as a team if one-to-one de-escalation isn't working.

But who do you call, then? Some schools have thin staffing with many problems. I haven't seen this, but my teacher friends tell me that they call the office in such situations and nobody can come help. A police officer can be a needed extra person. These aren't innocent but annoying temper tantrums. Classmates can get hurt, teachers can get hurt, and the violent student can get hurt. I've seen too many run from the schools I was in and into traffic. We were not allowed to go after them.

[teach1st]

19. Thanks for your replies, Ocelot II

Here's a good video showing what happens. My concern is for changing conditions and teaching methods so this no longer happens. I posted because I think most people don't know what goes on in elementary schools. I don't like police intervention. Effectively changing things takes resources, and many states are shorting schools on resources.

[Jedi Guy]

17. The school was wrong to call the cops in the first damn place.

Kids act out because... well, they're kids. They're still figuring out this whole "life" thing, and have even less of a clue than the rest of us by dint of being so young. The school has no business calling the cops on a student unless the assault involves a weapon and/or results in serious injury.

As for the cop, he could have turned this into a positive interaction and a teaching moment by taking her aside and calmly explaining to her that her behavior is unacceptable and continued behavior of that sort could involve serious consequences in the future.

I'm generally sympathetic to cops and I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this was just stupid.

[Progressive Jones]

20. There is no place in our society for lazy, stupid cops. nt

[marble falls]

21. This is disgusting. 6yr olds in hand cuffs?