beware of felony tantrums

[rkt]

I have several posts-in-waiting.

and the this one came along, and my head hurts...

Kindergartner Charged With Felony Tantrum
By Bonnie Goldstein
Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at 5:48 PM


Avon Park , Fla., is a zero-tolerance kind of place.

On March 28, Desre'e Watson, a 6-year-old kindergarten student at Avon Elementary School, had a bad morning. She cried. She wailed. She kicked. She scratched. She hit a teacher. That's what the police say, anyway.

The police? That's right. To subdue the unruly kindergartner, school officials phoned Avon Park's police department committed to enhancing the 'Quality of Life' of the community When the cops arrived, young Desre'e attempted to resist arrest by crawling under a table. But Avon Park's finest pulled her" out, cuffed her, put her in a police cruiser, drove her to the county jail, and charged this 50-pound menace with a felony and two misdemeanors. The police report is below.*

"When there is an outburst of violence," Police Chief Frank Mercurio told a local news station, "we have a duty to protect and make that school a safe environment for the students, staff and faculty. That's why, at this point, the person was arrested regardless what the age." Let's hope his message gets across to those brats in the neonatal wards.





http://www.slate.com/id/2164004/entry/0

x-posted

Comments

[thinlikestick.livejournal.com]

handcuffs, huh? when dealing with a six year old throwing a temper tantrum, i usually go with hugs, tickling, and/or a lollipop. when really frustrated, i might even say, "okay, but i need you to use your words to tell me what's going on, or i won't know how to help you." obviously, i know nothing about how to handle children. handcuff 'em and throw 'em in the back of a police car - of course that's the best way to calm down an upset child - it's so obvious now!

[rkt.livejournal.com]

...y'know?

i've had slightly older kids - who were on medication - be threatened by child protecion services to have the police called.... and on one occasion they even were called... but so was EMS.... talk about child hood trauma.