A 6-year-old was arrested for battery after throwing a tantrum in class, grandmother says
Authorities are investigating after an Orlando school resource officer arrested two elementary school students ages 6 and 8 on misdemeanor charges.
Officer Dennis Turner is facing an internal investigation because he failed to follow department policy that requires officers to obtain approval from a watch commander before arresting minors younger than 12, Chief Orlando Rolon said in a statement. Turner's duties have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
"The Orlando Police Department has a policy that addresses the arrest of a minor and our initial finding shows the policy was not followed," Rolon said. "As a grandparent of three children less than 11 years old this is very concerning to me."
Police did not name the children because of child privacy laws, but Meralyn Kirkland told WKMG-TV that her granddaughter was one of the students arrested. She said the 6-year-old was arrested because she was acting out in class at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy.
The school did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Kirkland said her granddaughter kicked a staff member who grabbed her wrists in an attempt to calm her down, the station reported. Kirkland said she tried to explain to Turner that the behavior was the result of lack of sleep because of a medical condition that they are working on treating.
"He says, 'What medical condition?' 'She has a sleep disorder, sleep apnea,' and he says, 'Well, I have sleep apnea, and I don't behave like that,' " Kirkland told the station.
Kirkland said the first-grade student was taken to a juvenile detention center on a battery charge and has an upcoming court date as a result of the arrest.
Rolon said in a statement the officer transporting the 6-year-old realized approval hadn't been obtained and stopped the process "immediately." The child was released back to the school before being processed at the Juvenile Assessment Center.
In a separate incident, an 8-year-old was transported to and processed in a juvenile jail by an officer who was unaware the arrest hadn't been approved by a superior, Rolon said. The child was released to family members shortly after.
Kirkland told WKMG-TV she hopes no child has to experience what her granddaughter went through.
"No 6-year-old child should be able to tell somebody that they had handcuffs on them and they were riding in the back of a police car and taken to a juvenile center to be fingerprinted, mug shot," Kirkland told the station.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida cop under investigation after arresting kids, 6 and 8
