14 DAY TRIAL // An elementary school student in Alton, Illinois has been handcuffed and jailed for two hours after throwing a fit in class, reports say.
Opposing Views notes that police were called in by teachers at Lovejoy Elementary School in Alton, when the child started acting erratically and becoming aggressive.
8-year-old Jmyha Rickman was throwing things around in two separate classrooms, and allegedly had to be restrained. School officials have mentioned that this is not the first time the special needs student flares up in class.
Alton Police handcuffed her and took her to the station in a squad car. She was not allowed to take her coat and, during the two hours she spent in custody, she could not use the bathroom.
“Her eyes were swollen from her crying and her wrists had welts on them. [...] They cuffed her feet too and she asked to use the restroom several times and was ignored,” her legal guardian, Nehemiah Keeton describes.
School officials explain their position by detailing how the girl's family refused to pick her up after the incident. Alton Schools Assistant Superintendent Kristi Baumgartner responds that, in cases such as this one, their policy calls for authorities to be alerted.
“As a last resort we sometime have to involve law enforcement. [...] They take the student into protective custody when the parent refuses to pick up the child.”
“I feel like if you can’t handle an 8-year-old without calling the police, to put fear in them like my child, you don’t need to work with kids.
“This is something that I don’t’ feel like any 7 or 8 year old – I mean, she didn’t have a weapon threatening to harm anybody,” Keeton tells KMOV, explaining he was on his way to pick up the child.
Do you think Alton Police officers were justified to resort to jailing the young girl? Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section.