THE family of a boy will sue the authorities and an elementary school in Key West, Florida, after a newly released video showed the eight-year-old pupil with special needs was handcuffed by the police.
A body camera video of the Dec 14, 2018 incident was released on Monday (Aug 10) by Attorney Ben Crump, who represents the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
Police were called to the Gerald Adams Elementary after they boy was said to have punched a teacher in the chest.
The child was arrested on a felony battery charge. However, the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case in October 2019.
The video footage shows two officers telling the child that he is going to jail as they tried to handcuff him but they were too big for the boy.
“You’re going to jail. So, you need to stand up and put your hands behind your back,” an officer was heard telling the child. The child is then frisked as he puts his hands on a cabinet and is then placed in handcuffs.
The handcuffs fell off the boy’s wrists as he was too small.
Watch the video here:
Unbelievable!! @KWPOLICE used “scared straight” tactics on 8yo boy with special needs. He's 3.5 ft tall and 64 lbs, but they thought it was appropriate to handcuff and transport him to an adult prison for processing!! He was so small the cuffs fell off his wrists! pic.twitter.com/iSTlXdKas6
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 10, 2020
