PHARMACIST STEVE

A school resource officer shackled two disabled elementary school students in violation of their rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the American Civil Liberties Union charges in a lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court in Covington, Kentucky. According to the ACLU, an 8-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, both who suffer ADHD, were restrained by Sheriff Deputy Kevin Sumner as punishment for behavior related to their disabilities. Sumner locked the adult-sized handcuffs around the children’s biceps and forced their hands behind their backs, causing pain and trauma.

 

The ACLU filed their complaint on behalf of the children against Kenton County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Charles Korzenborn and School Resource Officer Kevin Sumner. It seeks a court order prohibiting the use of unnecessary and excessive physical restraint and handcuffing on schoolchildren by the Sheriff’s Department. The suit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The ACLU has released a video that shows Deputy Sumner shackling the boy. The boy is sobbing throughout the video.

“Using law enforcement to discipline students with disabilities only serves to traumatize children. It makes behavioral issues worse and interferes with the school’s role in developing appropriate educational and behavioral plans for them.” — Susan Mizner, disability counsel for the ACLU

According to Kim Tandy of the Children’s Law Center, Kentucky prohibits its school personnel from using restraints to punish children. In a press release, Tandy says that this law applies to resource officers working in the schools. The children did not present any threat to public safety that warranted a disregard of state regulations.

The ACLU sites U.S. Department of Education statistics that show 75 percent of students physically restrained by adults in schools are disabled although disabled students make up only 12 percent of the student body. Disabled students and students of color are vulnerable, claims the ACLU, to being pushed out of school and into the criminal justice system, a phenomenon referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline. “…instead of receiving necessary educational and counseling services, they are often punished and pushed out,” the organization claims. One child in the case is Latino; the other is African-American.

The mother of the little boy shown in the video says the experience has been a “continuing nightmare” for her son. He is having difficulty sleeping and is afraid he may see the officer in school. “School should be a safe place for children,” the mother asserts. “It should be a place they look forward to going to.”