Police use pepper spray on second grader

[The Straight Story]

Police use pepper spray on second grader

LAKEWOOD - When most kids throw a temper tantrum, they get time out. In 8-year-old Aidan's case, he got pepper sprayed.

A Lakewood Police report details the second grader's violent temper tantrum in a classroom at Glennon Heights Elementary on Feb. 22.

According to the report, Aidan "was climbing the cart and spitting at teachers. He also broke wood trim off the walls and was trying to stab teachers with it."

"I wanted to make something sharp if they came out because I was so mad at them," Aidan said. "I was going to try to whack them with it."

http://www.9news.com/dontmiss/191574/630/Police-use-pepper-spray-on-second-grader-

Arm the teachers with pepper spray, then no need to call the cops :evilgrin:

[Angry Dragon]

1. Tasers would work much better

within the last sixth months a child was tasered at school

[Lucian]

2. Ah, if only we could pepper spray all little 8 year old bastards

when they throw a temper tantrum. The world would be a better place.

Oh, and :popcorn:

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Well, if a cop can shoot a Chihuahua 3 times, why hesitate at a kid?

[babydollhead]

3. a litttle splash of water, always calmed my little sister

I did not want to touch her, when I was mad, she was skinny. so I would splash her in the face with water and the beast disappeared.

[uppityperson]

5. Spray valium would work also

[riderinthestorm]

6. I have to admit, what the fuck??!!

We had some pretty wild kids in my school when I was growing up. My daughters have also had some pretty severely disabled kids - mentally and physically - in her classes as mainstreaming is common.

But pulling the wood trim off the walls and trying to stab the teachers because you are "so mad"??

:wtf: Are there any teachers who would put up with this kind of violence in their class? I guess that with the current Rethug meme of bad-teachers, this would be all the teachers fault. But since I'm a rational human being, I find myself wanting to hear from teachers on what the hell you do with this????

[Yo_Mama]

9. You call the cops

That's all you can do.

If you read the article, they've called the cops on this kid twice before. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at the mother's reaction. She thought that since the cops had been able to talk to the kid and calm him before that the pepper spray was unwarranted.

I can't imagine what I would do if the cops were called on my kid once!!!

Plenty of toddlers get this mad, but this has gone on for way too long, and, um, I think we may have a parental problem:

"It's hard," Mandy said. "Do you listen to what the teachers tell you? Or do you listen to your child?"

Aidan admitted he has problems controlling his anger.

"Just kind of like whenever anybody upsets me," he said. "Like I just kind of want to tear them apart... I think it's not ever going to go away... It's just who I am."

Gotta be yourself????

[riderinthestorm]

12. Called the cops on the kid twice before??!! I 110% agree, parental problem! nt

[uppityperson]

33. Had a kid like this in my kid's class in grade school

They ended up assigning a special ed aid to accompany kid all the time in school. One of those "when is good is very very good, when is bad is horrid" kids.

The parent tried to do what could but wasn't able to due to varied reasons. Intellect, financial, support. All in all a bad situation.

Once the kid got too big to sit behind and hold on to, they ended up sending kid to a special needs school for a few yrs as parents were pulling their kids out of school due to the danger. Came back for middle school for a while, then off to boarding school for high school.

Kid is now on a sex abuser list locally as a young adult. It is just sad.

[Bettie]

18. On the mom's reaction also

She thought that they should have waited for her because she was "only" 10 minutes away.

The woman just didn't seem to have a clue that this is a real problem.

Oh, and if my kid behaved this way at school, his world as he knew it would end right then and there. No video games, no TV, nothing but mom-approved books and supervised play until he learned to behave. Luckily, my boys don't act out this way because they learned that "no" is not negotiable in most situations.

[axollot]

53. Not just parental problems but a serious problem with the kid

in question. My son had an anger problem that bad - not that out of control but it was that bad for him. It ate at him on the inside and he still has a hard time dealing with it at 21. All the counseling at school and after school did little to help him - he had to grow out of it and grow up.

Sad. Mom's probably working 1 or 2 jobs leaving little time with him which could fuel anger too.

Cheers
Sandy

[Yo_Mama]

68. Possible

VERY possible.

But toddlers do pass through a stage in which some of them do get this mad. Very nice little kids do it. Anger is normal at a certain stage.

Your guess about the mother is probably right; the kid's statements seem to show that either the mother isn't getting through to him or the mother kind of never grasped this stage of parenting.

The fact that he doesn't think he can control his behavior is what worries me. Controlling the emotion is one thing - that's very hard, and as you say, sometimes only time really helps. But controlling your own BEHAVIOR is entirely a different issue. At eight, it's well past time to have learned that you must and you can, and barring real abnormality, most children of that age can learn not to bound around tearing stuff off the walls with the intent to spear someone.

[axollot]

88. Very true about control. And his comments are a serious concern

At eight it is well past time to not only learn to control your actions but to find out there are very real consequences to those actions. My daughter is nearly 8 now (yes an 8, 17 and 21yr old LOL) and all kids go through a period of lying. Unacceptable. I'll ask her if she has homework, if she says no - fine - but she faces the consequences if she is lying! In fact I had her do a day of "in school suspension" for lying to me, the principal and counselor (she didnt like her teacher and wanted her class changed - which she ended up getting - not by me but the principal). Then her straight A's turned into C's and B's. So a few major changes were going to happen at home if she didnt bring every grade up by 1. She did - because she didnt want the consequences of goofing off in class. (she's really bright and reads at 6th grade level in 2nd grade - so she started goofing off in class and her grades fell).

I'm lucky to be at home with her and my 17yr old son full time. My eldest didnt get that benefit - we made a choice to go without many, many things just so one parent could be home full time. (like a car for me - I have a new one now tho. we went without vacations but had our 1st last summer. we also live in a pretty small home even though based on "income" we could have bought more - but didnt want the debt)

Cheers
Sandy

[Thav]

Unfortunately, teachers can't do much against attack.

My wife trained as a teacher, and she told me about many of the rules some schools have. Most of the "defending yourself" involves covering your head and hope they don't hurt you too badly. Teachers aren't allowed to do anything that might hurt the students, even if they are defending themselves from attack. Rules do differ between schools, though.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. big cop couldn't physically restrain 8 year old?

[Yo_Mama]

11. If the kid gets hurt there's major trouble

I think they are trained this way. Talk 'em down, and if that doesn't work than something like spray or taser.

It sounds like the boy was truly out of control and apt to hurt both himself and others. I can't blame the cops for this. I only hope someone gets this kid settled down before he's sixteen and having fits of temper like this.

[WatsonT]

70. Then we'd have headlines here about "250 lb cop physically abuses 8 year old"

[CreekDog]

81. A taser's voltage isn't abuse?

especially on the little body of an 8-year old?

:wtf:

[WatsonT]

83. He didn't use a taser.

And the point was that no matter what the cops did people would complain.

[CreekDog]

85. Sorry, I mixed up my terms...but pepper spray is perfectly ok on an 8-year old

kinda like a super soaker --just stingy-er! :rofl:

:eyes:

[WatsonT]

87. Ok, what should they have done?

Keeping in mind that Mom has a lawyer on speed dial and your career might very well be over in the next 30 seconds.

[Very_Boring_Name]

8. this is why we need to arm teachers with guns. n/t

[smirkymonkey]

31. And not just regular guns, but automatic weapons!

[Thav]

43. Better! Anti-tank weapons

Anti-personnel mines and flame throwers!!!! Equip every room with a canister of VX gas, for when things get really rough.

[KurtNYC]

10. "When 2nd Graders Attack!"

coming up next on Fox.

[Bettie]

13. I watched the interview with the mom and kid

I am the mother of an 8 year old boy. My son knows how to behave and has learned that "no" means just that.

I also watched the interview on GMA with the mom and the kid.

The child showed no remorse for his actions, no indication that he even "got" that how he behaved was wrong.

The mom says he never acts out anywhere but school. The boy said that he was angry because they didn't let him do what he wanted to do...seems to me that mom never tells him no at home.

Then there is the question of what the teachers and police were expected to do.

Here lies the problem.

If the teachers had restrained the kid themselves, he might have gotten hurt. The mom would have sued the school and gotten the teachers fired for abusing her child.

If the police officers had tried to restrain the child, same scenario.

Frankly, pepper spray doesn't produce permanent harm (I'm sure someone has an anecdote about how it killed their cousin's friend's uncle or something, but generally it is not harmful in a permanent way) and it stopped the situation right then and there. Mom is still probably going to sue the school and police and the kid will likely be back in class in a few days.

In my son's class there is a child who has a "keeper" who stays in the classroom at all times to watch over one child. This child has been kicked out of 8 schools since Kindergarten due to his violent outbursts. When he is angry, he calls the teacher a whore, a bitch, a MF'er, and other lovely things. He also picks up desks and chairs and flings them about the room.

When he goes into one of these fits, the class and teacher leave and his keeper restrains him.

This man (the boy's keeper) is on the school district payroll, not paid by the parents of this disruptive child and he takes away from the learning of the other children. This is this boy's third school this year.

Oh, and the parents have made it very clear that if anyone but the keeper so much as touches their child, there will be a lawsuit.

[slackmaster]

16. Failure to respond to such severe punishment is a bad sign for that boy IMO

I believe a normal child would be terrified to go back to school again.

BTW - Where is the kid's FATHER?

[Maru Kitteh]

64. It is not strictly necessary to have a male present to teach a child to behave properly

Unfortunately, it seems both men and women increasingly seize their equal opportunity to fail at this task.

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Teachers can't restrain kids - that's a lawsuit waiting to happen

Until you've spent time around a violent child, it's hard to understand how disruptive they can be. Thanks for your great description.

I don't believe we should taser or pepper spray these children but I'm also not sure what the best response is. They can easily destroy the learning environment, not just in one classroom, but in an entire school.

[Yo_Mama]

69. Yes, the mother is a problem

Because a functional parent would realize this is a problem. Whether the mother could handle it or not is a question, but the fact that she doesn't get it indicates that she's not up to the job.

My mother was a public school teacher. There are a few parents who just don't get that kids have to be taught limits on their behavior early on. As you say, they rule the household. Then the child gets into school and it is a terrible shock. Parenting standards have changed; it's not that rare to see a six year old slapping or cursing their parent without consequence. Then imagine that kid in a class with a bunch of other children. If the kid is naturally tempestuous, a very dangerous situation can develop.

Anyway, this is a good reminder to us all that if teachers are having trouble teaching, this sort of thing is part of the problem. I went to an elementary school (way back when) that was small and poorly funded by today's standards. Classes were large. Thirty some students in first grade, no aides, just a teacher. I got a fantastic education, but what's different between then and now is that disruptive behavior wasn't tolerated. And it wasn't as if we didn't have troubled kids in school back then.

In any case, my first reaction to this pathetic anecdote was to wonder what happens to this kid if he is not taught to control his anger when he is sixteen. He's going to end up in the jug, he's probably going to be one of these sentenced as an adult kids. We all spend our lives doing stuff we don't want to do.

Your child is being robbed of his education, exposed to danger, and what about the kid behaving that way? How functional is he going to be? What's that child's prospects socially and otherwise? These situations don't improve on their own.

[WatsonT]

71. Class action suit

against the mother for depriving the other students of an education and putting them in fear for their lives due to her gross negligence as a parent.

Sadly that's the only thing that will likely get through to her.

[Shagbark Hickory]

14. Sounds like it was a pretty serious hostage situation. Credit for using a non-lethal weapon 4 a chng

[slackmaster]

15. I'll bet the kid doesn't do that shit again

Just sayin'...

[jtuck004]

39. Respectfully...bet he does. eom

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. And based on experience with these kinds of kids, I'm sure he will do it again

[slackmaster]

50. Oh well. Maybe he'll get some appropriate help, if it's not too late.

I ask again, where is is father?

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. Getting help would be the parent's responsibility

But it looks like she'd rather run to the media.

[slackmaster]

57. And the boy's father hasn't been mentioned

So he must be out of the picture.

[proud2BlibKansan]

62. No reason to believe he would be any better at parenting than the mom

Or that the child would be more manageable.

[slackmaster]

67. Monty Hall would probably disagree with you on the probabilistic aspect of that statement

But we'll never know because whoever he is or was, he's not there now.

I know how my dad would have handled a situation in which I acted up at school (which never happened because he helped teach me how to behave and how to treat others).

[WatsonT]

72. Sadly he will

right now he's being told that it wasn't his fault, that he's a perfect angel and everyone else was picking on him.

Also they're picking out some nice new toys for him that the lawsuit will pay for.

[grahamhgreen]

17. We live in a violent police state. Inexcusable. Police should be prosecuted for child abuse.

[Bettie]

19. So, what should have happened?

If the police had physically restrained him, someone would have cried child abuse.

If the teachers had physically restrained him, someone would have cried child abuse.

So, what is the right solution. Just let this child rage and stab someone with a piece of wood? Just leave him to destroy the classroom and go back in when he's done and act as if nothing happened?

What would your solution have been in this case?

[grahamhgreen]

21. Talk him down. Happens every day. It's a child. If you don't know how to do it - stay away from kids

[MadHound]

23. And you don't think that attempt wasn't made?

Turns out that this is the third time that the cops have had to be called to handle her precious little darling.

I'm sure that the teacher tried to talk the kid down, but when he starts wielding a foot long sharp piece of wood, it is time to stop worry about the "poor little dear" and start looking out for the welfare of your other students and yourself.

This kid has some serious issues, one of them being his mother, and simply doesn't belong in a normal classroom.

[Bettie]

26. Obviously, it wasn't working this time

You see, they talked him down the two previous times they were called.

If he received no consequence from that except a vacation to play video games at home, then there was no incentive for him to be talked down. He knew that if he behaved badly, he'd get a vacation and more video game time at home.

If the police had been there before, clearly "talking down" wasn't working very well.

I am a parent and my kids know what behavior is expected of them. When my kids get angry or out of control, I do talk them down, but they have never gotten so out of control that they threatened anyone with a weapon of any kind.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Kids like this can't always be easily talked down

I see you have no idea . . .

[grahamhgreen]

58. Please do not pepper spray your children. If you feel the need to do so, seek counseling.

[proud2BlibKansan]

63. Wasn't planning on it

[WatsonT]

73. How many times should the cops be called in to a classroom for one kid?

They aren't surrogate parents.

[grahamhgreen]

79. Until he is expelled.

[WatsonT]

82. Ah, so they should expel him

I agree.

But how does that deal with the immediate problem?

[MadHound]

20. Really?

If a teacher steps in to restrain this child, especially if something goes wrong, the teachers gets sued for everything they own and then some.

If a cop steps in to restrain this child, especially if something goes wrong, the police get sued for everything they own and then some.

So what is left? Either bring in the pepper spray or let the kid continue to throw a fit, threatening everything around him.

I say bring in the pepper spray.

This is the result of living in an overlitigious society. A teacher or cop can't restrain the "precious darling" for fear of getting sued.

There was no child abuse here, pepper spray is non-lethal, has no long term effects.

And frankly, where has this parent been, raising a little monster who goes beserk when the teacher doesn't allow him to do anything he wants? Why aren't parents held responsible for failing to raise a kid who has basic socialization?

[grahamhgreen]

22. You are advocating child abuse. Please stay away from children.

[MadHound]

24. Let's see here,

At some point the teacher had a choice. Continue with the futility of trying to talk this child down, again, or start looking out for the welfare of his/her other students and their own safety.

When a kid is wielding a foot long piece of wood, and refuses to calm down or drop the wood, and this selfsame kid has a long previous history of such incidents, sorry, but another alternative must be found. That is why the cops were called in.

You sound exactly like the kid's enabling parent, hopefully you don't raise your kids in the same manner, without boundaries or rules.

Pepper spraying a kid after all else has failed is not child abuse. What would constitute child endangerment is letting this kid continue to threaten the rest of the class, including the teacher. What would you rather see, some other kid poked in the eye with a sharp stick? Is that what you're advocating?

[grahamhgreen]

27. Pepper spray can result in death

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray

[MadHound]

32. Let's see, there have been twenty six deaths due to pepper spray since 1993.

Out of the hundreds of millions of times pepper spray has been deployed. That's roughly far less than one ten thousandth of one percent chance this kid could have died.

Now then, lets look at the odds of either this kid hurting himself, or hurting others if he was allowed to continue to wield a foot long sharpened stick. That is certainly well over one percent, could be as high as ten percent or more.

You play the numbers, and you look out for the safety of the majority on the scene.

[tammywammy]

34. Walking down the street can result death. n/t

[Bettie]

38. SO, everyone should simply dance to this kid's tune?

Because somewhere, at some time, pepper spray caused someone to die? I didn't see a statistic or an actual percentage of deaths caused by pepper spray.

Talking him down wasn't working.

If anyone touches him that is child abuse.

If they use pepper spray that is child abuse.

Sounds like there is no winning in this for anyone but the kid in your eyes.

So, we'll be like the old Twilight Zone episode, I think it was called "The Monster"

"Yeah, that's good....that's real good" and just let him do what he wants to and pick up the pieces afterward?

[Thav]

45. A 2nd grader wielding a sharp piece of wood can result in death.

[grahamhgreen]

59. Please do not pepper spray your children. If you feel the need to do so, seek counseling.

[WatsonT]

74. Allowing one child to rage out of control amid a classroom of many students is child abuse

Which is what you are advocating.

Sounds like a good spanking would have been in order but sadly that would lead to a lawsuit and termination.

[Arkansas Granny]

29. And who should have been prosecuted if this child had hurt someone or hurt himself?

He was threatening the teacher and had armed himself with something that could qualify as a weapon. Something had to be done. If you can't talk a child down from a violent outburst like this, you have to use some sort of restraint. It seems like the pepper spray was less likely to cause physical harm to the child than other methods of restraint that could have been used.

[grahamhgreen]

60. No, pepper spray can result in death. It is not acceptable to use to control children.

Obviously, the child should be disciplined if he hurts someone.

What is next - tasers?

[Yo_Mama]

77. Tasers are being used on kids

Seriously.

In FL, a kindergarten girl was tased when she blew. I think tasering kids is very unsafe.

This kid was a real danger to himself. He was ripping pieces of wood off the walls and, according to his own statement, intended to use the wood as a weapon.

In most such incidents, the rules are not to close but to stop the violence, so first they tell the child to stop it, to sit down, etc. If the kid can't be verbally restrained, then usually the policy would be to use pepper spray. Controlling a frenzied child isn't necessarily easy, but I think most of it is just fear of litigation.

Pepper spray wasn't used as a method of discipline, but as a method of stopping the violent, out-of-control behavior. I think everyone's shocked at the situation, but I think pepper spray is considered less dangerous and I don't know of any school district that wouldn't allow its use in such a situation.

There are some VERY violent kids in school. I'm shocked by the lack of awareness shown in yours and other people's comments here.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/118813449.html?viewAll=y

Read that whole thing.

[grahamhgreen]

80. It is absolutely sick, and perverse and abusive.

[Zephie]

25. Man, I don't support pepper spraying the kid, but he sounds friggin scary

He needs some more extensive evaluation. I know the article says he's seeing a doctor, but I think that they might need a new one if they haven't diagnosed the reason or put him on any type of regimen for trying to alleviate the problem. He's obviously unwell.

[Jefferson23]

28. How sad his words are..hopefully he will receive help and support

to overcome these obstacles.

[uppityperson]

35. +1000

[Blue_Tires]

48. Hopefully his mom will stop finger-pointing and attention whoring for 30 seconds

and put her attentions to raising a well-adjusted member of society...

[Jefferson23]

78. I'm glad to hear you have the situation all figured out. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

91. I've only figured out the obvious stuff

1. Going on GMA to complain about the way the cops handled it is not going to make her kid better behaved.

2. We can debate all day if the police action was appropriate, but no matter what they did, it doesn't excuse the fact that police(!) have been called to school three times because of him -- That is where the real outrage should be.

3. The mother is daft or oblivious...Saying with a straight face that her son has a clean mental/emotional health record is the biggest joke in the story...

[Dappleganger]

30. Does anyone know what the standard (acceptable) procedure is for securing a child like this?

Saw his interview this morning and he does look large for his age. Are resource officers that afraid of being hit with an object that using spray is required?

[tammywammy]

36. Or they're afraid of the resulting lawsuit from grabbing the child. n/t

[eleny]

37. I live in Lakewood and that school is right near my post office station

I feel sorry for the other kids in the class.

[The Magistrate]

40. Euthanasia, Sir, Seems Indicated For The Police Involved

No excuse for this: nine.

[ecstatic]

46. Yet, if parents used pepper spray on their 8 year old,

CPS would be called and the child would be taken away!

[Blue_Tires]

47. That mother is the queen of enablers...

(I'll give the benefit of the doubt that the kid's home life is relatively normal)

As long as her little prescious is never in trouble and she keeps talking down or mitigating any punishment; as long as she hones her outrage on the school and police (who were called for a third time) instead of her son and parenting skills, nothing will change...I like the part where the mother said her kid has never been diagnosed with any mental issues(!) FIND a new PCP, lady...

And I will never understand the mindset of a parent who runs to the local TV affiliate screaming: "Those people were too harsh in dealing with my bratty hellspawn!" while completely ignoring the real problem...In a not-so-long-ago era, parental shame or embarassment would prevent this, but in today's era of race to the bottom five-minute stardom, everything is different...

Did that kid really try to stab his teacher with an improvised spear? Good luck trying to draw sympathy over that...

[RebelOne]

75. Yes, according the the Good Morning America

show interview this a.m. I would agree that the mother is an enabler She stated that the police should have just talked to him, .

[a la izquierda]

49. I have a weird feeling that we're going to hear...

about this kid going bananas someday and either shooting up a school or some other place...or becoming a serial killer.

[Politicalboi]

51. On MSNBC I didn't see the segment

But Contessa said something about the 8 year old being pepper sprayed, and the child they showed, had a puppy. I fear for that poor dog along with his fellow school mates as well as the teacher. He sounds like a real monster. I blame the parents not the cops or the school. He needs help.

[MilesColtrane]

54. I fear for his future Math teacher.

[TK421]

84. or Wood Shop n/t

[guitar man]

55. Outrageous, that child did NOT need to be pepper sprayed

Sounds more like he needs a foot up his ass to me! :evilgrin: :grr:

[Sky Masterson]

56. Spare the spray spoil the kid

:P

[tova]

61. violent child

He probably, as has been mentioned, has some type of mental issues. He should be in a more specialized school trained to handle violent kids. For example, some kids on the autism spectrum can be very violent no matter what the parents do to try to help them and can not be in a regular classroom.

[Carolina]

65. Spare the rod, spoil the child

Ever been in a store where a child is acting out and the parent acts oblivious or threatens a time out... to no avail?! Makes you wonder about that old saying.

Today we have absent parents, too busy parents and parents who think their obnoxious kid is special. We also have more drugged kids, more environmental toxins (food chain, media, a culture that glorifies war, etc), and more bastard lawyers looking to sue for any/everything.

This child is an out-of-control walking time bomb. He needs serious help and if this the 3rd time police have been called because of his disruptive, violent behavior, he should be expelled. He is a danger to those around him and he destroys the learning environment for those who are forced to tolerate him. No doubt he will end up in jail.

It's very sad but I feel saddest for the teacher(s) and other youngsters who have to endure:
his volatile nature
his mother's cluelessness
the greedy bastard lawyer(s) waiting to cash in on this.

[Rex]

66. Stupid move, now the kid will grow up and take in personally.

[shockra]

76. It's all those damn vaccines.

You think I'm kidding?

:evilgrin:

[deacon]

86. Oh my- did they call for backup? It could have resulted in a very low speed chase. n/t

[Iggo]

89. Cops who can't subdue a 2nd grader without using pepper spray...

...shouldn't oughta be cops.

[hotforteacher]

90. When teachers have to be trained to deal with this level of violence

then we have reached a new level of "tolerance" that is inexcusable--but especially in a primary environment. This is a constant conversation at my school: how to combat embedded, unchecked violence.

That being said, I don't have a problem dealing with 17-year-old Gangster Disciples at my urban high school, but this sort of problem-solving isn't something for most teachers (or most adults, for that matter). I don't get off on getting into the middle of a ring of twenty to thirty students getting primal urges to watch the mammals fight for alpha position, but sometimes it's necessary. You essentially have to have an amazing low center of gravity and be one of those "kid whisperers"--to be able to talk the most hostile child down to where they are cognitively functioning again.

This isn't something I learned from my teacher's education ten years ago; this is something I learned by growing up in a violent household. I don't know that other people, unless they have been actively trained in EBD (emotional/behavioral disorders) or de-escalation can do this, and this isn't standard fare in master's programs. Sorry. We've never been trained to be fucking bouncers.

I would not expect that someone who is a regular education classroom teacher to be able, nay, WANT to restrain or talk down someone who is literally ready to rip someone else to shreds while on the most potent adrenaline rush of their lives.

And when this becomes habitual/repetitive behavior, then the student does not have the ability to function in a regular education class and needs to be in a more secure and monitored environment until the child is able to prove self-control that will not harm other individuals in the immediate area. There are a lot of holes in the article as far as what else happened beforehand (but a lot of that data is confidential).

This is what should have happened:

*the child should have been referred to the social worker and/or psychiatrist after the first major episode,
*an OCR (Office of Civil Rights) behavior and intervention report ought to have been created,
*the teacher, principal, and parent should have met with the child post-suspension to create
*a behavior contract created with reasonable and attainable goals with the knowledge that if the child cannot cope, a special education assessment would be done to attain the best environment for said child to protect staff and students AND the child in question.
*a team of support staff should have been alerted to be the response team for this child while the interventions are being tested out for efficacy.