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5 Year Old Cuffed, Taken From Kindergarten to Psych Ward

By Jeralyn, Section Juvenile Offenders
Posted on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:23:47 AM EST
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A lead story in the New York Daily News this morning:

A 5-year-old boy was handcuffed and hauled off to a psych ward for misbehaving in kindergarten - but the tot's parents say NYPD school safety agents are the ones who need their heads examined.

....Dennis - who suffers from speech problems, asthma and attention deficit disorder - never went back to class at Public School 81 in Queens after the traumatic incident.

Neither the school nor the NYPD are commenting. The matter is under investigation.

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    5 Year Old Cuffed, Taken From Kindergarten to Psych Ward | 36 comments (36 topical)

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    Someone lost their mind! (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Militarytracy on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:46:45 AM EST


    Some (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Edger on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 02:02:38 PM EST
    one??

    Parent
    Militarytracy.... (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by dutchfox on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 04:30:58 PM EST
    haven't seen you in a while on here! Good to see you! Have you noticed a lot of newbies making comments on TL? That's a good sign!

    Parent
    9/11 changed everything (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by scarshapedstar on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:52:12 AM EST
    He could have been the world's youngest terrorist.

    W/speech problems, ADD and asthma, (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by byteb on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:52:24 AM EST
    I wonder if this child has been referred and evaluated by the local CSE? If not, why not? At the kindergarten/first grade level, the school should be especially vigilant in helping children who might need extra support in various areas. If he was referred and the CSE refused classification for whatever idiotic reason, this should be investigated. The incompetence, insensitivity and basic idoicy of his teacher, "guidance" counselor and principal is staggering. This is wrong on so many levels.

    In the article, it notes that (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by scribe on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 11:45:33 AM EST
    the kid's mom works at Bellevue, and even so the swine would not let her take the kid home - they first sent the kid to the psych ward.

    She took the kid out of school the next day, too.

    But these clowns have caused incalculable damage to that kid.

    Parent

    Luckily for this child... (5.00 / 2) (#9)
    by Dadler on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 11:46:48 AM EST
    ...resources are overflowing for the most needy in the school system.  

    Ahem.

    I freaked out a couple of times at school at that age, never got cuffed, but one time a teacher had all the other kids in the class chant at me "You're bad, You're bad, You're bad..."  I, um, kid you not.  

    Good thing we've come so far from those dark days.

    Parent

    And look where you wound up. (none / 0) (#10)
    by scribe on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:01:49 PM EST
    Here's yet another example of NYC in action.  A Brit family (mom, 2 teenage girls) comes to NYC on vacation around Christmas.  Second day, mom comes down with pneumonia and has to go to ER.

    Everything goes to hell (also known as a Queens ER) - mom is admitted, and the kids are hauled off by Childrens' Services, taken to a group home, get mug shots and uniforms, and are held there.

    Mom checks herself out of hospital, finds kids, they all go home.

    Now, mom is under investigation for child neglect.

    They hate us for our freedoms.

    Parent

    Um, pretty bad, but not quite as bad (none / 0) (#12)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:18:49 PM EST
    as all that: From the article:
    The [you're under investigation] letter Yvonne Bray received was a form letter and she will get another one closing the case, the spokeswoman said. [...]

    She [Yvonne] admits allowing an ACS worker to take the two girls, but she believed they would be staying with a nice family for the night. [...]

    The girls didn't know what to say when authorities asked if they belonged to any gangs.

    "I'm a member of Appledore library," Gemma told them.

    In the end, things weren't too bad at the group home. They made friends with some of the other girls, who peppered them with questions about their homeland.

    "They were like, 'Oh, so you have tea with the queen,'" Gemma said. [...]

    In spite of it all, "I love New York," Yvonne said.



    Parent
    More on this case (none / 0) (#13)
    by scribe on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:42:13 PM EST
    from the Brit media.
    The kids are asked:
    Are you a member of any street gangs?
    Kid:  I'm a member of the public library...

    Then again, this being NYC, they probably have The Librarians down as a gang, just like the Gramercy Riffs, the baseball players, the mimes, and all the other gangs in The Warriors.

    Parent

    The Warriors..... (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:53:26 PM EST
    I can't recall where I read it to give proper credit....but Obama reminded somebody of Cyrus from The Warriors.

    Can't you almost picture him speaking on the campaign trail.....

    "Can you count Suckas!"

    "Caaaaaaannnn Yoooooouuuuu Diiiiiiggg It?"

    Parent

    Warriors. Come out and plaaa-aay! (none / 0) (#16)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:56:33 PM EST
    Clink, clink, clink.

    Parent
    I recall that movie being in heavy rotation (none / 0) (#17)
    by scribe on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 01:27:40 PM EST
    on HBO when I was in college - and we all took up both the chant and the beer-bottle jangling.

    A bunch of guys making that chant was an open invitation (always accepted) to a massive snowball fight....

    It's sophomoric, but we were sophomores at the time....

    And, yes, 'Bam does remind me of Cyrus, though I hope the comparison ends at his oratory and motivational skills.

    Parent

    In honor of Cyrus..... (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 01:45:33 PM EST
    Can you count, suckas? I say the future is ours...If you can count. Now look, what we have here before us. We've got the Sorisons sitting next to the Jones Street Boys. We've got the Moon Runners, right next to the Courtland Rangers.

    Nobody is wasting nobody. That is a miracle. And miracles..is the way things ougth to be. You're standing right now with 9 delegates from 100 gangs. And there's a hundred more. That's 20 thousand hard core members! 40,000 counting affiliates, and 20,000 more not organized, but ready to fight. 60,000 soldiers. Now there ain't but 20,000 police in the whole town. Can you dig it? Can you dig it? CAAAANNN YOUUUU DIG ITTT?!



    Parent
    Instead of ACS... (none / 0) (#24)
    by dutchfox on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 04:40:29 PM EST
    why weren't the hospital's patient relations staff there to assist? Weird.

    Parent
    agreed (none / 0) (#5)
    by Judith on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:53:30 AM EST


    Parent
    "when in doubt i whip it out! (5.00 / 2) (#18)
    by cpinva on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 01:30:13 PM EST
    got me a rocknroll band, it's a free for all!"

    zero tolerance = zero brains

    the beautiful thing about a "zero tolerance" policy is that it frees anyone from having to actually exercise judgment. no thinking required, just follow a pre-scripted set of one-size-fits-all actions.

    yeah, i bet none of the authorities are commenting, what on earth could they possibly say? good thing for him the kid's name isn't mohhamad, he'd already be on his way to gitmo, for some "intense" interrogation.

    Extremely well said (none / 0) (#33)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 08:40:58 AM EST
    coming from the land of raising children.  If your brain isn't tired every night you aren't doing it right!

    Parent
    this kind of thing (5.00 / 2) (#22)
    by Jen M on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 04:30:24 PM EST
    happens in Florida all the time. One kid they cuffed was 4.

    They taser kids too. Not to mention what goes on in those "boot camps"

    Florida seems to hate their children.

    Of course they don't (none / 0) (#31)
    by Nowonmai on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 04:32:42 AM EST
    They don't mind TOURIST kids visiting Disney, but Florida is turning into the US' retirement park. Kids ruin that, you know. (saying this part sarcastically)

    Parent
    Alabama still uses corporal punishment in (none / 0) (#34)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 08:44:07 AM EST
    the schools.  It was strange moving here from the West, I couldn't believe that anyone still thought that was a method that really worked when dealing with kids.  Stories like this one seem to come out of Florida all the time and I don't understand.

    Parent
    In reading the linked news report, it appears (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by oculus on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 05:02:28 PM EST
    this child has "acted out" in ways possibly harmful to himself or others in the past at the school.  Handcuffing and transporting to mental health facility was definitely not called for.  But, shouldn't the school have contacted the parents and recommended some type of professional assessment earlier?  

    yes it should have. (none / 0) (#28)
    by cpinva on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 01:21:00 AM EST
    been there, continuing to do that. public school systems, much like insurance companies, make every effort to avoid providing scarce, allocable resources to any child. in their defense, there's just not enough money available to do so, every system would be bankrupted.

    so, those who qualify for state/federal aid receive help. those who's parents can afford the cost get help. the rest get..............nothing.

    the child also needs someone to constantly advocate on their behalf, to battle the system to get the help they require. absent that, and the child is lost.

    Parent

    armchair warriors (1.00 / 1) (#26)
    by diogenes on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 06:09:31 PM EST
    Just what exactly do you do with a kid who within a week on three occasions has broken glass, punched an assistant principal, and behaved violently and out of control in the principal's office?  A psychiatric evaluation is quite in order-five year olds have been known to have bipolar disorder and to be suicidal, for example.  If it weren't for rules about contact with kids, the sensible thing would have been to physically wrap him and use a sheet or strait jacket instead of handcuffs, but we live in a different time.  
    If this kid subsequently punched a wall and broke his hand or ran in the street and was hit by a car, all of you guys would be railing about how the system ignored the "obvious signs" and didn't get him the mental help he needed.

    Oh, Bullsh*t. (5.00 / 3) (#27)
    by Edger on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 08:02:00 PM EST
    Contact with kids? Rules? Roll him in a blanket or whatever it takes. Have two people do it while three watch.

    What is it with you wingers and force anyway?

    Handcuffs? On a five year old?

    Jesus... Psych eval yourself.

    And get some new batteries for your lamp while you're at it...

    Parent

    if you read my post... (none / 0) (#35)
    by diogenes on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 07:05:17 PM EST
    If you'd read my post, you'd have seen that I also thought that handcuffing was not appropriate; if NYC schools have a policy of physical restraint, so much the better.
    Half the posters here are offended by the transport to the hospital.

    Parent
    Be careful with backpedalling, diog. (none / 0) (#36)
    by Edger on Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 08:52:26 AM EST
    More people might read your post.

    Parent
    Are you effing kidding? (none / 0) (#29)
    by Nowonmai on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 04:16:52 AM EST
    Handcuffing a 5 year old child is ok? I don't care if the kid was having a temper tantrum, the adults there should have physically restrained him. They are bigger than a 5 year old.

    Wrapping someone in sheets was typically done in mental hospitals.

    Your trying to justify the actions of the deputy dawgs that masquerade as law enforcement in Florida  is revolting. No, it's barbaric.

    Parent

    Correction (none / 0) (#30)
    by Nowonmai on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 04:28:51 AM EST
    Deputy Dawgs in New York.

    Parent
    The child (none / 0) (#1)
    by Judith on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 10:44:43 AM EST
    has behavioral issues for sure, but this is so severe I think they have opened themselves up to legal action.  

    Zero tolerance trumps common sense. (none / 0) (#6)
    by JSN on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 11:05:25 AM EST
    Also the penalty for truancy is expulsion. Could there be a problem with our educational system?

    Dear God What Is The World Coming To (none / 0) (#7)
    by MO Blue on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 11:39:12 AM EST
    When a school thinks it has the right to put a 5 year old, 68 lb. child in handcuffs. I hope that the family get a lot of money out of this and can put that child in a school that knows how to properly handle behavior problems.

    Asinine. (none / 0) (#11)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:06:50 PM EST
    However, the kid's 5 y/o, 4'-3" and 68lbs? Off the charts. The Nets should keep an eye on him...

    Nothing definitive..... (none / 0) (#15)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 12:55:29 PM EST
    but sh*t like this didn't happen before Rudy.

    His authoritarianism haunts this city to this day.  When in doubt, whip out the cuffs.

    Neither the school nor the NYPD are commenting? (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 02:01:06 PM EST
    There probably hiding under their desks, talking on their cell phones with employment agencies.

    on the plus side (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Jen M on Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 07:15:52 AM EST
    they haven't made that asinine comment "it wasn't meant to be punitive" that others have made after a handcuffing small children incident.

    Maybe they don't want to let on how often this happens in New York.

    Parent

    5 Year Old Cuffed, Taken From Kindergarten to Psych Ward | 36 comments (36 topical)

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