New York State Police are defending the actions of two troopers who placed a 5-year-old special needs student in handcuffs and shackled his feet while bringing him to a hospital for a mental evaluation.
The Watertown Daily Times reports that police said the child was restrained Wednesday because he was "out of control" and "combative" in school.
Trooper Jack Keller, a public information officer, told the newspaper the boy's behavior posed a risk to himself, students, school staff and troopers. He said the boy was "screaming, kicking, punching and biting."
An official with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services says staff tried for two hours to de-escalate the situation until police arrived.
The boy's parents say they plan to sue the district and that their son is traumatized and fearful of returning to school, according to the newspaper. The boy had been in the special needs class for just two weeks after being recently diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.
“An officer told me they had to handcuff his wrists and ankles for their safety,” mother Chelsea Ruiz told the Watertown Daily Times. “I told him that was ridiculous. How could someone fear for their safety when it comes to a small, 5-year-old child? He said that he understood because he had four children of his own.”
Ruiz says hospital officials determined that her son, Connor, did not need to be evaluated by a psychiatrist. She says he was just a boy throwing a tantrum.
