Handcuffing an out-of-control Georgia kindergartner. Was there a better response?
UPDATE Tuesday at 1:22 p.m.: Since writing about this yesterday when there was just the one news story, this incident has drawn widespread attention around the country.
The AJC now has a more detailed story online.
That story states:
Police said a small shelf thrown by the child struck the principal in the leg during the fracas. The child also jumped on a paper shredder and tried to break a glass frame, the police report states. The school called police. When an officer tried to calm the child in the principal’s office, she resisted, police say. She “was restrained by placing her hands behind her back and handcuffed,” a police report states.
A juvenile complaint was filed, accusing the girl of simple battery and damage to property. The police department’s policy is to handcuff people when they are taken to the police station, regardless of their age, interim Police Chief Dray Swicord said. “The reason we handcuff detainees is for the safety of themselves as well as the officer,” he said Tuesday.
The girl’s aunt, Candace Ruff, went with the child’s mother to pick her up from the police station. She said Salecia had been in a holding cell and complained about the handcuffs. “She said they were really tight. She said they really hurt her wrists,” Ruff said. “She was so shaken up when we went there to pick her up.”
The police chief said the girl was taken to the police department’s squad room, not a holding cell, and officers there tried to calm her and gave her a Coke.
The girl was suspended and can’t return to school until August, her mother, Constance Ruff, told WMAZ-TV, which first reported the story.
“We would not like to see this happen to another child, because it’s horrifying. It’s devastating,” her aunt told The Associated Press.
Here is the original post from Monday:
A few folks sent me links to this news story out of Milledgeville where an officer handcuffed a kindergartner for what police said were safety concerns about the child’s out-of-control behavior.
The readers who sent me the link to this story disapprove of the strong police response, insisting there are better ways to contain and calm a hysterical 6-year-old than clamping handcuffs on her. Afterward, the child was charged with simple assault and damage to property.
I read the comments posted to the WMAZ-TV site, and local respondents split over whether this was an overreaction. I expect we will hear more about this story and a more detailed police response.
According to the police report, a kindergartner was crying in the principal’s office at Creekside Elementary before police arrived Friday. The report says when the officer tried to calm the child, she resisted and was cuffed.
The little girl is accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing furniture. The report mentions the girl knocked over a shelf that injured the principal. Police say they tried to contact her mother but weren’t able to reach her. They took the child to the police station where she was charged with simple assault and damage to property. Because of her age, she will not have to go to court and will not be sentenced.
Her mother, Constance Ruff. says her daughter was suspended and cannot return to school until August. “She has mood swings some days, which all of us had mood swings some days. I guess that was just one of her bad days that day,” said Constance Ruff.
“A 6-year-old in kindergarten. They don’t have no business calling the police and handcuffing my child,” said Earnest Johnson, Salecia’s father.
“She might have misbehaved, but I don’t think she misbehaved to the point where she should have been handcuffed and taken downtown to the police department,” said her aunt, Candace Ruff. “Call the police? Is that the first step? Or is there any other kind of intervention that can be taken to help that child?”
WMAZ spoke with other police and sheriff’s departments. None of them could remember handcuffing a child that young. They say the use of handcuffs would be at the officer’s discretion and based on whether the child is a threat to herself or others.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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499 comments Add your comment
One Striking Rattler
April 16th, 2012
10:02 pm
I question what is going on in the child’s life that made her act out in this manner. It is quite obvious that whatever was bothering her, caused her to overload. She simply could not handle the emotional stress any more. The question is what is causing her such emotional turmoil? Beating her is not the answer. Finding out the the stresses in her life, eliminating them or teaching her how to cope with them is a better approach.
Silly
April 16th, 2012
10:06 pm
An officer isn’t capable of restraining a 6 year old without cuffs? She isn’t cut off out for this line of work. Face it, typical females don’t have the physical strength of men and we need to stop dancing around that issue.
William Casey
April 16th, 2012
10:11 pm
An out of control 6-year old can cause a lot of physical damage to other human beings. The cuffs seem like a reasonable and expedient response. I’m also certain that the officer didn’t have a lot of time to consider his/her options. As to the causes of the behavior, we don’t have nearly enough information to make a judgement on that. The last is called “critical thinking.”
Courtney
April 16th, 2012
10:11 pm
Handcuffs sound fine to me. Obviously the child is mentally ill or the parents are abusive. (or both)
Miss Grundy
April 16th, 2012
10:14 pm
To struggle with the child, or try to restrain her could have caused her injury. Handcuffing her was the safest thing for all concerned. And to those that think cuffing was too harsh, if YOUR child was in a class with an out of control schoolmate, how would you react if a chair was thrown at YOUR child’s head? Seriously, there are some of you out there who have no idea what goes on in schools, all kinds of bizarre/dangerous behaviors which where learned, permitted, or ignored at home.
Miss Grundy
April 16th, 2012
10:15 pm
“were” learned
Contractor
April 16th, 2012
10:21 pm
CH,
Try proof reading before you dig yourself into a deeper hole that makes you sound even more dumb than you already do. I am a parent, and I can promise you my child will never act like this. You’re a complete idiot and your posts only reaffirm that notion because you make no sense and want to blame everything else but the kid and their parents. I feel bad if you’re a parent, because if you’re infecting your kid with the mindset you expressed on here, they’ll have a rough go at life. Of course, you’re probably the type of parent that wants trophies for 15th place, and doesn’t like kids playing tag on the playground because it’s too physical as well. Try growing up a little before you post again, or not, and continue to make a fool of yourself.
whatsisname
April 16th, 2012
10:23 pm
The bottom line is that kid has the capability of hurting one of her classmates. Consequence is a heck of a deterrent for bad behavior. Kids should learn that before they become adults and have to deal with the US or State justice system.
Aquagirl
April 16th, 2012
10:35 pm
An officer isn’t capable of restraining a 6 year old without cuffs?
This six year old was apparently gnawing on a doorknob. So yes, you would need handcuffs for that sort of child.
Rick
April 16th, 2012
10:49 pm
Where were the school and county psychologists? Why were they not called in to handle this situation. This child needs help, not law enforcement. What a ridiculous response!
g
April 16th, 2012
10:56 pm
the american industrial prison complex continues…
Bobo
April 16th, 2012
11:27 pm
I’m with @contractor. CH may be an adult, but is surely acting as a child.
There is such a thing as proper behavior in a polite, civil society. Bad behavior should be met with swift negative reinforcement. Excusing bad behavior only makes matters worse.
Teacher Reader
April 16th, 2012
11:59 pm
I have seen kindergarteners totally destroy a room in a matter of minutes, throwing chairs, ripping off posters and work on the walls, and it was dangerous for me to stop the child on many levels. First, the child is throwing things at me. Do I want to get hurt? NO, I want to protect the innocent children. Second, if I touch the child and leave a mark on the child in any way for any reason, I am going to be sued.
For those that are saying to get her help, they have NO IDEA of the mounds of paperwork and countless months of interventions that must be done to even begin the process, and then the parent has to agree to it. It’s not like any teacher, principal or counselor can wave a magic wand and puff she is getting help. It takes about a year for the process to go through. It could be six months if they push her through, and parents ask for testing.
Teachers aren’t taught how to restrain children. If the cop, a trained individual who is used to dealing with people far worse than a kindergarten felt it was necessary to cuff her, than I am willing to believe it was the only way to help the girl get control. I have seen too many kids act like this year after year after year, because mom/dad don’t want to believe something is wrong with their precious “angel.”
Sometimes drastic measures need to happen to wake parents and children up.
Ummmm
April 16th, 2012
11:59 pm
So, quick question…A lot of people in this thread have said that “there are better ways to restrain an out of control six year old than handcuffs”…But none of have actually stated what these ways are. What are these ways, keeping in mind that the teacher and principal are subject to a lawsuit if they touch the child in a way that the parents (who were not there during the outburst) deem too excessive after the fact?
Teacher Reader
April 17th, 2012
12:04 am
@ Rick Schools do not have Psychologists sitting in offices waiting for students to act out. School Psychologists are used to evaluate students for special services (special ed placement/gifted sometimes). They are not used for counseling. Counselors in schools do not have the training to deal with a totally out of control child who is throwing chairs and destroying a room. We do not know if this is the first time such an out burst happened or even if the parents want the child to have any help for their behavior.
As others have said, there is not enough information to make any judgement, but like the Treyvon case too many are quick to pass judgement on decisions without knowing all of the facts or working with totally distorted facts. We can thank our public schools for not teaching us how to think critically.
Dr. J.
April 17th, 2012
12:08 am
That child needs to have the $#!t beat out of her to teach her a lesson. Numerous “sane” people on this list have commented to that effect. I agree with them. Only someone so open-minded htat their brains fell out would disagree. The parent then needs to be arrested for child neglect.
TimeOut
April 17th, 2012
12:08 am
Once again, I venture into the world of ‘getschooled.com’ and find some participants that react and respond to each other like guests on a Jerry Springer show. Civil debate is so much more interesting and useful.
Anarchy Abounds
April 17th, 2012
12:24 am
Teachers and administrators are not allowed to place their hands on a student in any way. Restraint by school officals is not even an option. I was repremanded for ushering a student to his desk. I placed my hand in the small of his back and walked him to his desk. He cursed me, threatened me, and jerked away from me, and I got in trouble. The inmates are running the asylum!
lol
April 17th, 2012
12:36 am
Your taxes at work.
Beverly Fraud
April 17th, 2012
1:16 am
Never should have happened. IF the teacher had rigorous lessons designed rigorously, with an emphasis on rigorous rigor, the child would have been so “engaged” she never would have thought to misbehave.
CLEARLY the teacher’s fault.
“The research” shows this of course.
Mom of Autistic Child
April 17th, 2012
1:52 am
It is possible that this child may have special needs such as Autism that has not been diagnosed. Not every child who appears to be misbehaving actually is, at least not on purpose. I have a daughter with Autism, she is almost 14 and unfortunately she still has temper tantrums when frustrated. These can be further exasperated by others becoming upset and before you know it she is in a complete meltdown. I know to outside observers that do not understand, she appears to just be a “spoiled brat” and I am some horrible parent that is just allowing her to behave badly, but it is something that she can not control nor can I. She and I have to deal with the stares and dirty glares from strangers in stores and restaurants. Before she was properly diagnosed (which wasn’t until she was 9), I would be called to the school at least once a week. My daughter had to deal with not having any friends and nobody wanting to sit with her at lunch because of her tantrums and meltdowns. It was very heartbreaking as a mother. Before people judge and automatically jump on the parents as not raising their kids properly, try to be objective because it is possible that this is not what it seems.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
April 17th, 2012
2:36 am
Did the link-sending readers specify what some of the better means of dealing with this little girl’s misbehavior might be?
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
April 17th, 2012
2:39 am
BF,
Folks may think you’re being sarcastic. They may not appreciate that this is the typical official response of the educRATS who “lead” our local schools.
JoJo
April 17th, 2012
4:13 am
Proverbs 22:15
What's next?
April 17th, 2012
4:54 am
Hell no! An out of control child is unpredictable. Parents have little or no control over their children, but are waiting to file law suits. I think handcuffing the child minimized his/ability to harm others.
What's next?
April 17th, 2012
4:56 am
Heck no! An out of control child is unpredictable. Parents have little or no control over their children, but are waiting to file law suits. I think handcuffing the child minimized his/ability to harm others.
Unfunded pension
April 17th, 2012
6:02 am
Just hope the little precious and her mom move to another state before it grows up. I don’t blame the cop but I do blame the mom.
Toby Cash
April 17th, 2012
6:21 am
I wonder if this child was on meds and did not take them.
ScienceTeacher671
April 17th, 2012
6:35 am
I have seen the teen mothers, who when asked about their toddlers, laugh that he or she is “SO bad!” because the child is undisciplined and does such “cute” things when s/he doesn’t get his/her way.
I’m guessing that when the child begins to be this out of control, it’s not quite as funny any more.
Mark
April 17th, 2012
6:46 am
When I was her age and I misbehaved I was paddled and I then knew I was going to be punished. But these days we dont want to punish the kids. “It will scar the kids”. I say bring back the paddle and allow the principals and teachers to punish these kids the way we were punished. I blame the parents. When your kids misbehave it is not amusing. Parents need to discipline their children without taking it to the level of abuse. Dr. Spock is mostly to blame for the way we treat kids these days. It is deplorable how kids misbehave and the parents are so self absorbed they don’t see their kids running all over the place. The child if she was behaving as wildly as that she deserved to be in handcuffs if not for anything else than to protect the people around her from throwing and damaging anything else. One last thing, the parents need to beheld accountable for the damage and they should pay for the damages.
HS Math Teacher
April 17th, 2012
6:49 am
I think the Tasmanian Tot fared better with the cop than if a Catholic School Nun had to be involved…or a stern British Nanny.
gamom
April 17th, 2012
6:53 am
Geez how about a behavior plan people!
Jan
April 17th, 2012
6:55 am
This child is either…
1) A total brat with biological units that are unwilling to be parents
OR
2) psychologically disturbed with totally clueless parents
In either case, the child was a THREAT to the other children in the class room. I say that the cop did the right thing.
I hope that poor child gets some help somewhere as it appears her parents won’t get her any.
The Ghost of Edward R. Murrow
April 17th, 2012
6:59 am
All of this reminds me of the time that a reporter asked Billy Graham whether he thought that corporal punishment warped a child’s personality….his reply…
“When I was young and misbehaved, my mother warped a part of me alright, but it wasn’t my personality”
Well, the (quote) child advocacy experts (quote) have banished spanking forever…and we have incidents like this. Just wait until more and more of the entitled generation start growing up and getting old enough to vote….uh, oops…maybe that have!
Joe the Teacher
April 17th, 2012
7:19 am
For all you commenters who have never taught, teachers cannot touch or put their hands on students, are BARELY allowed to raise their voice at students, and have difficulty getting troubled students out of the general population. So, teachers are handcuffed as well with immediate action.
Andy
April 17th, 2012
7:25 am
While it might have been the first time this rug rat has been handcuffed, it won’t be the last time.
Her silly uneducated momma is a class act for sure.
Just Another Person
April 17th, 2012
7:30 am
Number 1: All of you out there crying out how “ridiculous” this is, have you seen the state that today’s youth is in? They are idolized by the media for doing things like this, getting pregnant, and just making bad decisions all around.
Number 2: Was the child physically harmed by the handcuffs being placed upon her? Is the child going to get any reprimanding outside of suspension from school? Keep in mind, during her suspension her mother will probably tell her that it was the educators who did wrong, and not the child who was acting inappropriately.
Number 3: Parents use educators as personal babysitters. This child needs to learn from someone that she cannot act in the manner that she did. If this were a twelve year old, she would have been sentenced to time in juvenile hall.
All of you complaining about this situation need to seriously wake the hell up, and QUIT TRYING TO BE YOUR CHILD’S FRIEND! Be a damn parent first, and cut the local educators and police officers some slack for doing the job that none of you want to.
Maude
April 17th, 2012
7:39 am
After teaching Kindergarten and first grade for almost 20 years I have saw at least 5 children that should have had the police called and never returned to a regular education classroom. I am not talking about children with true mental problems other than the way they were raised.
Baltisraul
April 17th, 2012
7:40 am
Should have put the cuffs on the parents also.
Misty Fyed
April 17th, 2012
7:43 am
I agree that handcuffing a child of that age is absolutely absurd…Just not for the same reasons you may think..
It’s absurd that we have stripped our schools of the ability to deal with problem children without calling in the police. A police officer had to respond and HANDCUFF a Kinder-gardener because the SYSTEM won’t let the principle introduce the child’s butt to a wooden paddle.
Infuriated
April 17th, 2012
7:45 am
Good job by the police and for the school officials for suspending that brat until Aug. 13. If that little demon is like this now, imagine what she’ll be like when she’s 18!
SweetTea
April 17th, 2012
7:48 am
Board of education worked great back in my day. Never had it applied personally but had a very healthy respect for it and knew I’d get it at home if I got in any trouble with “the authorities.” Kids must be disciplined. To think otherwise is nothing but nitwittery.
Inman Park Boy
April 17th, 2012
7:52 am
I think we would have had to have been on the scene to make a call on this.
Teacher in GA
April 17th, 2012
8:00 am
Unless you teach in a public school, you will never understand. That is why we have so many children in trouble when they get older. They just do not start acting out when they get to middle and/or high school, it starts when the first get to school.
carlosgvv
April 17th, 2012
8:03 am
When you reach a point where fear of trial lawyers and lawsuits overrides everything else, this is exactly the kind of situation you may expect. When I was in school, a child acting like this would have gotten a swift paddling. Now, if you even touch one of the little darlings, you get sued. Don’t expect any action from our lawmakers as most of them are lawyers.
me
April 17th, 2012
8:04 am
FYI -school personnel are no longer able to touch any child, even if he or she is out of control. We can NOT restrain them. That is why the police were called and why the handcuff restraints were necessary. Could I restrain a 6 year old girl – absolutely. Am I able to restrain her based on what I have been instructed to do – no.
brother bill
April 17th, 2012
8:09 am
What was this child consuming? Did she just have breakfast of sugar frosted flakes, with added sugar with allergy causing milk? Were her parents working three jobs to pay the bills? Clearly, this child was not having a solid home life. Spanking may not be the solution. A healthy diet and loving parental care it what she needs. Maybe its time we figure out how to have Mom at home full time, like before the 1950’s.
Logical Dad
April 17th, 2012
8:09 am
The officer was absolutely correct in handling this situation. No gray area at all. An out-of-control person (regardless of age) is a threat to others as well as himself or herself. The handcuffs probably saved the child and potentially the officer (and maybe others) from injury. Well done.
That being said, it is always good to hear from the “Beaters.” (Like the “Truthers” or the “Birthers.”) Those people of limited intelligence that think all of life’s ills would be solved if we beat children more. (Yeah, I know, ‘there’s a difference between a beating and a spanking” right? Why is it only the ones doing the beating that use this excuse?) Anyway, my guess is that this child was beaten in the home. Probably led to the aggressive behavior.
Saltycracker
April 17th, 2012
8:11 am
The officer, called in by the school, made a judgement call to resolve a bad situation. It may or may not have been how another would have handled it but the immediate situation was resolved without further injury.
The real debate should be how should our public schools handle these children and their parents ?
BuckeyeInGa
April 17th, 2012
8:11 am
I will keep an eye on this story. Why is the police called in for a 1st grader? What did the 1st grader do to make the Principal called the police instead of having anyone in the administration(principal, vp, counselor) take care of it?