Kenton County Resource Officer/Sherriff's Office sued for restraining Disabled

[Hatz]

What was the disability that this kid suffered from? Forgive me if it was mentioned in article I never read or the previous posts, dont have time at work.

 

According to reports he has been diagnosed with ADHD.

[plantmanky]

The restraint with the handcuffs is acceptable in this situation. The physical restraint hold that would be used is an outside to inside underhook of the arms putting your elbows with theirs, which is exactly what the handcuffs do in this instance.

 

You guys may not like it but thats what most Educators are taught to control a student, be it a kindergartner to high school-er.

 

My question would be the details of what led up to this. My understanding is that the officer was not even in the building and had to be called in to handle the situation, which tells me the kid was being violent to himself and others at that point.

[Beechwoodfan]

The restraint with the handcuffs is acceptable in this situation. The physical restraint hold that would be used is an outside to inside underhook of the arms putting your elbows with theirs, which is exactly what the handcuffs do in this instance.

 

You guys may not like it but thats what most Educators are taught to control a student, be it a kindergartner to high school-er.

 

My question would be the details of what led up to this. My understanding is that the officer was not even in the building and had to be called in to handle the situation, which tells me the kid was being violent to himself and others at that point.

 

This may very well be true. Special needs kids can be very violent to themselves and others. I have a friend whose daughter broke the arm of a teachers aid.

 

If the teacher could not handle him, isn't it safe to assume that he/she exhausted all other options on how to help him gain control? By calling the police and leaving, she was turning authority over to him.

 

Since we don't know what happened before, maybe this is the best safest option for the officer to get the child under control.

There is a whole lot we don't know here, so I would not be so quick to judge the officer on this one.

[LIPTON BASH]

The more I've read on this lawsuit the more it seems some have jumped to conclusions to quickly. This officer may not of broken any procedure protocol.

[TAC]

Not many with one that young. Cuffs are the issue. I've seen physical restraining holds that were acceptable but not with one so little.

 

I haven't said I prefer one way or the other, just how I expect this to go for him and the school. There are no easy answers. Not good.

 

So what action would you take?

[LRCW]

What do you do with him in the mean time?

 

Sit him down in a room by himself, and sit an adult behind him, and in front of him.

[75center]

So what action would you take?

 

I really don't know what I would do in that situation.

[75center]

The more I've read on this lawsuit the more it seems some have jumped to conclusions to quickly. This officer may not of broken any procedure protocol.

 

There was a local boys home that was closed in part for bad publicity resulting from legal and state approved/recommended restraints being used on the boys. Obviously a school isn't going to be closed but what is protocol often looks like abuse.

[LIPTON BASH]

There was a local boys home that was closed in part for bad publicity resulting from legal and state approved/recommended restraints being used on the boys. Obviously a school isn't going to be closed but what is protocol often looks like abuse.

 

I would say that's on the general public not the officer. We already let kids get away with to much in school today.

[75center]

I would say that's on the general public not the officer. We already let kids get away with to much in school today.

 

I don't disagree. Public perception drives a lot of inequities.

[littleluck55]

The Sheriff stands behind is deputy in how it was handled:

 

“I steadfastly stand behind Deputy Sumner, who responded to the school’s request for help,” Kenton County Sheriff Charles Korzenborn said in a statement. “All the facts and circumstances have not yet been presented.”

 

The full statement from the Kenton County Sheriff’s office:

 

School superintendents and administrators want, and need, to provide a safe environment for students and teachers. School personnel are permitted, like any other citizen, to request assistance of a law enforcement deputy. Covington Schools’ personnel requested assistance from the police during school hours afterschool administrators’ efforts to deescalate and defuse a threat to others had sworn to do and in conformity with all constitutional and law enforcement standards. In this particular case, all the facts and circumstances have not yet been presented. I steadfastly stand behind Deputy Sumner who responded to the school’s request for help. Deputy Sumner is a highly respected and skilled law enforcement deputy, and is an asset to the community and those he serves.

 

Kenton County Sheriff responds to ACLU lawsuit over deputy handc - WDRB 41 Louisville News

[futurecoach]

Sit him down in a room by himself, and sit an adult behind him, and in front of him.

 

Not trying to signal out your post, just pointing out how it is not that simple sometimes. What do you do if that student won't sit down? Or if that student picks up that chair and throws the chair and or tries to hit the teachers with the chair. In most cases the adult obviously probably would be able to grab the chair first. But if the teacher can't grab the chair in time? Does the teacher need to actually be hit with the chair first before the student is consider a threat to phsycially harm? Or should the action of the student attempting to do it count? Which if a student is a threat to harm him or her self or others then physical restraint is required. So then it gets to which is better at that point a grown adult who is in the school building having to phsycially restrain the child or a cop handcuffing them?

 

I have no idea what led to this student being handcuffed and the students actions may have not warranted it, we wont know until details come out. However I use to teach in an inner city school, and for people to say the easy thing to do would be call the parents. Well i guarntee that probably was the first thing they tried because all schools are taught to call parents right away. However especially at inner city schools it can be very difficult to even get ahold of the parent if at all. Then as I mentioned before just putting kid in a room by themself doesn't mean they calm down. I have seen the students then try to pick up anything to use to throw at adults or use to try to hit the adults. De escalation tactics could be used but not work. So I am not saying I agree with the handcuffing, however until we hear all the details about what the student was doing that made the school have to call him to come. Then I am not going to be quick to judge since I have seen first hand how some students may act in an inner city school and how you can use all the right strategies to de escalate, call parents, clear the room, but it doesn't always work.

[uk#1fan]

If the officer did not cuff this kid and if the kid hit someone else's kid we would here everyone go crazy over that it is a no win situation. I am starting to think the officer did the right thing.

[futurecoach]

I have taught many students with just adhd and in this story the person stating this says the students actions were punished because of behavior which has to do with the disability. However ADHD may cause a student not to be able to focus in class, or even stay in an assigned area. However ADHD doesn't cause students to act aggressive to other students or adults. It doesnt make a student be defiant just to be defiant and talk back, throwing objects at people, attacking others, etc. So I do feel like if the officer had to be called to the school that it wasnt because of behavior that is caused by ADHD that made the officer get called. Which this story makes it sound like he intentionally went after a kid with a disability. If that is what happened then the officer is dead wrong. However I really would like to hear more about it before I form an opinion about this officer.

[futurecoach]

If the officer did not cuff this kid and if the kid hit someone else's kid we would here everyone go crazy over that it is a no win situation. I am starting to think the officer did the right thing.

 

It all depends on exactly what the student or students were doing. This story makes it sound very bad, but for the officer to be called to the school shows that the school must have felt they have done everything they could. Which shows the students behavior may have been more than just it being about the disability which this story makes it out to be. So its to early to tell one way or another without more details.