Lakeisha Reid and her 6-yr-old son Patrick.
A six-year-old boy was recently arrested for misbehaving at a Georgia elementary school.
According to Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA, Lakaisha Reid said her son Patrick, a special needs student, was arrested for being disruptive at Pine Ridge Elementary School in Stone Mountain, Ga., east of Atlanta. Reid said she and her husband received a call from school officials to come in and discuss their son’s behavior. When they arrived and were directed toward their son’s classroom, she said they could hear him screaming.
“He just ran away from school. That does not require handcuffs. He’s a special needs kid,” Reid told the television station. “They need to have police officers that are trained for special needs kids or for any kids that are that age. That’s pretty young for handcuffs. Anything can happen with those handcuffs on him.”
The handcuffs were locked on so tight that they left bruises on Patrick’s wrist, she said.
The DeKalb County School District issued a statement regarding their use of handcuffs to discipline Patrick.
“A 6-year-old student at Pine Ridge Elementary School was acting in a disruptive manner and being self-destructive during school today,” the statement read. “He ran out of school onto a busy, public street and was pursued by three school staff members. After several unsuccessful attempts, his parents were contacted and asked to come immediately to the school.”
“For approximately one hour, the student was scratching, kicking and hitting school personnel and continued to exhibit violent behavior, running into walls, banging his head on tables and placing his health at risk,” the statement continued. “At this point, the school resource office placed handcuffs on the student to protect him from harming himself.”
Reid has not said whether she and her husband plan to take further action against the school.
