Six-year-old child arrested by Florida police

[amy]

By BOB HERBERT

Published: April 9, 2007

Avon Park, Fla.

When 6-year-old Desre'e Watson threw a tantrum in her kindergarten class a

couple of weeks ago she could not have known that the full force of the law

would be brought down on her and that she would be carted off by the police

as a felon.

But that's what happened in this small, backward city in central Florida.

According to the authorities, there were no other options.

"The student became violent," said Frank Mercurio, the no-nonsense chief of

the Avon Park police. "She was yelling, screaming - just being

uncontrollable. Defiant."

"But she was 6," I said.

The chief's reply came faster than a speeding bullet: "Do you think this is

the first 6-year-old we've arrested?"

The child's tantrum occurred on the morning of March 28 at the Avon

Elementary School. According to the police report, "Watson was upset and

crying and wailing and would not leave the classroom to let them study,

causing a disruption of the normal class activities."

After a few minutes, Desre'e was, in fact, taken to another room. She was

"isolated," the chief said. But she would not calm down. She flailed away at

the teachers who tried to control her. She pulled one woman's hair. She was

kicking.

I asked the chief if anyone had been hurt. "Yes," he said. At least one

woman reported "some redness."

After 20 minutes of this "uncontrollable" behavior, the police were called

in. At the sight of the two officers, Chief Mercurio said, Desre'e "tried to

take flight."

She went under a table. One of the police officers went after her. Each time

the officer tried to grab her to drag her out, Desre'e would pull her legs

away, the chief said.

Ultimately the child was no match for Avon Park's finest. The cops pulled

her from under the table and handcuffed her. The officers were not fooling

around. In the eyes of the cops the 6-year-old was a criminal, and in Avon

Park she would be treated like any other felon.

There was a problem, though. The handcuffs were not manufactured with

kindergarten kids in mind. The chief explained: "You can't handcuff them on

their wrists because their wrists are too small, so you have to handcuff

them up by their biceps."

As I sat listening to Chief Mercurio in a spotless, air-conditioned

conference room at the Avon Park police headquarters, I had the feeling that

I had somehow stumbled into the middle of a skit on "Saturday Night Live."

The chief seemed like the most reasonable of men, but what was coming out of

his mouth was madness.

He handed me a copy of the police report: black female. Six years old. Thin

build. Dark complexion.

Desre'e was put in the back of a patrol car and driven to the police

station. "Then," said Chief Mercurio, "she was transported to central

booking, which is the county jail."

The child was fingerprinted and a mug shot was taken. "Those are the normal

procedures for anyone who is arrested," the chief said.

Desre'e was charged with battery on a school official, which is a felony,

and two misdemeanors: disruption of a school function and resisting a law

enforcement officer. After a brief stay at the county jail, she was released

to the custody of her mother.

The arrest of this child, who should have been placed in the care of

competent, comforting professionals rather than being hauled off to jail, is

part of an outlandish trend of criminalizing very young children that has

spread to many school districts and law enforcement agencies across the

country.

A highly disproportionate number of those youngsters, like Desre'e, are

black. In Baltimore last month, the police arrested, handcuffed and hauled

away a 7-year-old black boy for allegedly riding a dirt bike on the

sidewalk. The youngster was released and the mayor, Sheila Dixon, apologized

for the incident, saying the arrest was inappropriate.

Last spring a number of civil rights organizations collaborated on a study

of disciplinary practices in Florida schools and concluded that many of

them, "like many districts in other states, have turned away from

traditional education-based disciplinary methods - such as counseling,

after-school detention, or extra homework assignments - and are looking to

the legal system to handle even the most minor transgressions."

Once you adopt the mindset that ordinary childhood misbehavior is criminal

behavior, it's easy to start seeing young children as somehow monstrous.

"Believe me when I tell you," said Chief Mercurio, "a 6-year-old can inflict

injury to you just as much as any other person."

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/opinion/09herbert.html

This is one of the sickest things I've ever heard.

Even for Florida.

[Tanni Foemangler]

i ALMOST stopped reading at...

The chief's reply came faster than a speeding bullet: "Do you think this is

the first 6-year-old we've arrested?"

...because i was pretty sure it was a joke

[Samurai Drifter]

You've got to be kidding me.

That's... unbelievably stupid. Seriously, what the hell were they thinking? A six year old kid would barely know what they were doing, much less have any idea of the consequences of their actions, and they're wasting their time arresting one? What if at the same time, a murder was being committed, or a bank robbed? They'd be cuffing a 6-year-olds arms instead of actually doing something useful like protecting the taxpayers. What good could arresting a 6-year-old possibly do?

Come to think of it, the actions of the police may be criminal in this case, considering the age of the kid.

I mean, honestly. What the fuck were they thinking?

[Crube]

Well, if I were to rear (This... is... ENGLISH!) a child, I would move out of this country first.

[No Sad Endings]

i ALMOST stopped reading at...

...because i was pretty sure it was a joke

There is a reason that fark.com has a "florida" tag.

It is the ONLY state that gets its own tag, btw. XD

[Natsu]

<sigh>

Thats way to brash to teach an unruly child, if I had of acted like that, my rents woulda beat the living shit outta me.

[No Sad Endings]

<sigh>

Thats way to brash to teach an unruly child, if I had of acted like that, my rents woulda beat the living shit outta me.

And that would have also been a very wrong thing to do, considering that if a child has gone that wild, something is wrong. Children throw tantrums, but they don't normally get that physically violent.

Of course, I don't believe in corporal punishment in general anyway. You can't hit people in daily life that are doing something you don't approve of, even if they're your subordinates, so why should it be okay to hit a child?

[Satan]

Crube, this is Florida, not the US.

[Cleese]

Crube, this is Florida, not the US.

if it was California, they would have arrested the teacher

[amy]

if it was California, they would have arrested the teacher

don't act like it's political

nobody would condone this

[Poophy]

You've got to be kidding me.

That's... unbelievably stupid. Seriously, what the hell were they thinking? A six year old kid would barely know what they were doing, much less have any idea of the consequences of their actions, and they're wasting their time arresting one? What if at the same time, a murder was being committed, or a bank robbed? They'd be cuffing a 6-year-olds arms instead of actually doing something useful like protecting the taxpayers. What good could arresting a 6-year-old possibly do?

Come to think of it, the actions of the police may be criminal in this case, considering the age of the kid.

I mean, honestly. What the fuck were they thinking?

The police could be like “lol are you serious?!” but its not really up to them, if the school wants to press charges they have to do their job

As sad as it may seem calling the police on unruly children doesn’t seem to be that uncommon, on certain occasions (when I have lost the remote) I have watched “cops”, and on the show parents have called the police because they cant control their kids.

Personally I believe that the school acted inappropriately, they should have handled this in a more “school like manor”. They should have suspended the kid and have the parents come pick her up.

[Gundampilotspaz]

It's wrong, shouldn't be done.

Of course, there are SOME levels where punishment needed to be handed down. Like if your kid starts crying in a restaurant and you don't take him outside within five minutes.... you should get thrown in jail for disturbing the peace.

[DreamerGirl]

So, I don't know where the hell Avon Park is, but it should probably be realized that there have been incidents where elementary school kids have had knives in Florida. I can understand being a little nervous as a teacher....

After they were sure it was just a little kid tantrum with no real violence, though, send the kid home. The whole felony thing is a joke.

[The Lone Magician]

This is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard. It's clear here that nobody in Florida has ever had a competent thought (With the exception of the Full Sail school, where I want to go to college). I think in this day and age people should realize that 6 year olds aren't psychologically capable of realizing what they're doing is wrong and that they'll be punished for it. Anybody who thinks arresting a 6 year old for anything short of an ACTUAL FELONY (such as murder of home invasion) should probably be arrested themselves (or shot, whichever gets my point across better)!

[James_xeno]

This is fucking nuts! End of story! It's a small child, not some 16 year old douche who should know better. So there are 6 year old felons now... wow.. just. fucking wow!

And that would have also been a very wrong thing to do, considering that if a child has gone that wild, something is wrong. Children throw tantrums, but they don't normally get that physically violent.

Of course, I don't believe in corporal punishment in general anyway. You can't hit people in daily life that are doing something you don't approve of, even if they're your subordinates, so why should it be okay to hit a child?

I may be wrong but I kind of get the feeling that you don't spend much time around too many children.

Which has a lot to do with what's wrong with the world today.

[DreamerGirl]

I may be wrong but I kind of get the feeling that you don't spend much time around too many children.

Which has a lot to do with what's wrong with the world today.

How exactly do you mean that?

[Harrison Ford]

I love kids, especially kinder's, this makes me sad. :( Faggetty florida.

[Siendra]

They should have maced her.

[Harrison Ford]

They should have maced her.

No! They should have shot her, then later claimed that they confused a pear for a granade. DUH

[Ceraziefish]

Like if your kid starts crying in a restaurant and you don't take him outside within five minutes.... you should get thrown in jail for disturbing the peace.

...Are you serious?

If someone slightly interrupts your meal for ten minutes... They should get a police record and spend a night in jail?

I'm no friend to corporal punishment, either. I've spent time around kids -- fucking crazy kids, sometimes. Beating your kid is, I think, not the best way to go about things, but I think we've had this discussion on AE before and it didn't end well.

[Siendra]

...Are you serious?

If someone slightly interrupts your meal for ten minutes... They should get a police record and spend a night in jail?

I'm sorry, but honest to god, parents who annoy their children who are wailing loudly enough to disturb others in public need to at least be fined. It's annoying and just shouldn't happen. If your kid is being a whiny sack of shit, take them someplace else.

[DreamerGirl]

I was a baad kid. I mean, I drove the truck at 3. I tried to poison myself by eating something just because my mom told me not to. I dared my brother to stick tic tacs up his nose. (And yes, he did it.)

But when in public I was raised to behave perfectly. Everyone would talk about how I was "a little angel." Obviously, I wasn't but I knew the lines and I knew not to cross them. That being said, they never threatened me with violence either. (Well, my dad did once but let's just say that didn't work well. ^^;; )

I really don't think most kids are raised well anymore. They are left to a TV after school alone while they wait for parents to show up, and even then often times end up just being fed and ignored. It's ridiculous and sad.

[Natsu]

ummm how else are you supposed to raise a child who's unruly without a handslap or a yell I mean kids are kids they do dumb stuff, but jus saying "NO" and shrugging doesn't get anything solved, it jus spoils the kid into doing whatever he or she wants and turns them into a bad person later on.

[Satan]

ummm how else are you supposed to raise a child who's unruly without a handslap or a yell I mean kids are kids they do dumb stuff, but jus saying "NO" and shrugging doesn't get anything solved, it jus spoils the kid into doing whatever he or she wants and turns them into a bad person later on.

if you are so unimaginitive that you can't control your child without corporal punishment you shouldn't have one. That said, I'm not totally opposed to it, as long as its not excessive.

As for GPS, at the very least shouldn't your rule extend to noisy/disruptive adults?

[Siendra]

if you are so unimaginitive that you can't control your child without corporal punishment you shouldn't have one.

Name a more effective way to punish a child then.

Bear in mind that this is a young child, and they need to be able to associate what they did with the punishment without you explaining it.

A light smack is immediate and rather simple for the child to associate cause and effect to.

Cause - I did something I wasn't supposed to.

Effect - my hand hurts.

Solution - Don't do it again.

My mother smacked my hand with a spoon when I was three for trying to open the fridge. I never tried again until she actually asked me to go get something one day several years later. She never told me she hit me because I was trying to open the fridge. I was able to work that out myself. No other form of punishment is that clear.