Video was recently released of a police officer arresting a 6-year-old girl at her charter school in Orlando. Clearly the school called the police after the child engaged in unruly behavior. The charter school has 89 students and five teachersP. The students are 89% African American.
This is “no excuses” at its worst.
Newly released police body-camera video shows an officer in Orlando, Florida, arresting a 6-year-old girl who had zip ties put around her wrists at her school as she cried to be let go.
The video, which was provided Monday to NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando by the attorney for the child’s family, shows the incident on Sept. 19, which resulted in the firing of Orlando police Officer Dennis Turner.
‘Please let me go’: Video shows 6-year-old sobbing during arrest at Orlando school
Turner was involved in the arrest of two 6-year-olds in one week in September, among them the girl in the video. He was fired within days.
In the video, an officer is seen putting zip ties on the child’s wrists with her arms behind her back as the girl asks “What are those for?” and then cries “Don’t put handcuffs on” and “Help me, help me, please help me.”
As she is walked outside, she wails “Please let me go” and “I don’t want to go in the police car.”
In a police report, authorities said police were responding to a report that the 6-year-old had “battered three staff members by kicking and punching them” at her school, the Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy in Orlando.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is precisely what Defund the Police is about.
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Need to take a real serious look at the adults running that school. Apparently they lack the training, skills, or proper attitude to deal situations like this. I guess their answer to behavior issues is to call the police. Let them handle it. Easy way out.
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DISGUSTING. Made me feel like vomiting.
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DISGUSTING! DISGUSTING! DISGUSTING!
Only A**w**** handcuff children.
My gawd, a BIG MAN does this to a little girl, too.
America is so “messed up.”
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This happens all the time in our public schools. And teachers – school officials are told, you’re the professionals fix it. The behavior issues, from students is culminating in an environment not conducive to learning. To put the onus on teachers and staff is not fair. No judge, police officer, or business would allow anyone to remain in their courtroom, presence or business with the behaviors exhibited by a few students – routinely in our schools. Until those who continue to funnel much needed funding to Wall Street, Corporations and poorly thought out plans for excellence; and instead, get to work filling our public schools with well paid staff: more classroom teachers, more guidance professionals and better schools for which to work – these problems will persist. America treats our public schools with such disregard and respect, but have no problem, finding the money to build stadiums, arenas and multi-functional convention centers whenever a billionaire needs one. Before you disagree with me or blame the teachers Unions go read: In the Trenches by retired high school teacher – Dennis Fermoyle (Warroad, MN.)
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Let’s be clear, a six year old child is being discussed here where the teacher student ratio is less than 20. We are not talking about a class of 50 with some delinquent teenagers.
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You are 100% correct in that school has become a joyless place to spend the day, BUT this was a 6 year old child. There was absolutely NO reason to put her in handcuffs and into the back of a police cruiser. She will likely be traumatized by this for the rest of her life. The adults in charge should have known how to handle her behavior or should have called her grandmother to come and pick her up from school.
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Your post doesn’t really fit w/a 90-student K-5 like this one. No bigger than the PreK’s I visit; average age 7-1/2. However you make many good points that are echoed in Oakland teacher Harley Litzelman’s analysis linked below. But your opening gambit is confusing. Of course school officials shouldn’t be passing buck to teachers, they should be leading the project to create a peaceful environment. It is on teachers and staff to implement this – but maybe you’re saying, can’t be done w/o funding & appropriate support staff – agreed. I disagree w/ making a parallel to judge, police officer, business proprietor. None of those individuals have the duty to develop the ability of others to cooperate/ learn.
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Doesn’t this charter school have a principal, school counselor, nurse or social worker? Didn’t they call the parents or guardian of the child first? Calling the police on a 6 year old is insane. When I was teaching, one of the teachers had an emergency with a disturbed child who went ballistic in the classroom though he did not get physical or harm anyone. He was “just” out of control and was stomping around in the classroom, refusing to cooperate. The principal and school counselor took over the situation, the teacher and the other children went to the library so she could continue to teach, though all library classes were postponed for about the next couple of hours. The principal and school counselor tried to calm the boy down until his mother arrived to take him home.
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I have handled an out of control six year old ELL beginning student. She was violent at times. She bit others and stabbed teachers and students with pencils. She also bolted from the building a couple times. When this little girl hurt other students, we did not call the police. We started with time out, and eventually, we contacted the parents and told them we would be bringing her home. My TA had to cover my classes. The principal drove, and I sat in the back because I was the only one that could speak to her. Also, I had to ensure she didn’t do anything to harm herself. Sometimes the father spit and screamed at us. This process went on for months until we could place her in an EH setting. We kept trying to keep her in a less restrictive environment until we realized it would not work. Within a couple years this child eventually was placed in a residential community. This child was extremely disturbed, and she was far more troubled than most students that act out. We still never called the police!
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Someone who really cared about the child as a person. Not a statistic.
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Barbaric.
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Florida is full of heavy handed “law and order” conservatives that run the state. After the Stoneman Douglas shooting, lots of districts assigned police to schools. Police officers have no training in child development or classroom management. As Diane has said, “A hammer will look for a nail.” An over reacting police officer, particularly in an elementary setting, could be a danger to students and staff members. Most schools do not need full-time police manning their buildings, and calling police on a six year old is an over reaction. It is an inappropriate use of manpower. Put the money into counselors and social workers. It is a better use of funding. The fact that the charter school called the police to handle a six year old is a symptom of the school’s incompetence.
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I can’t think of anything that could damage a young child faster than putting him/her handcuffed into a police car. What isn’t mentioned is that there are significant numbers of schoolchildren with parents or family members who are themselves incarcerated. This kind of child abuse just adds to the cycle of trauma for that child and their family. In the end, everyone suffers.
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Exactly.
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This is serious child abuse creating trauma. I cant believe that no one in this school could have prevented what was on this video. This school should be closed down and all those who were aware of what was happening at the time should be fired, not just the policeman who should not have been called to the school in the first place.
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By calling the police, the staff, who should have been trained in the care of children, have demonstrated that they are unfit for that purpose.
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exactly what I always think: how can a school not have the adults in place who can work with all children — why is it even thought logical to call police officers for a child, and why do police officer follow through
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I’m a teacher in Oakland and I noticed that a lot of folks didn’t understand arguments to get the police out of schools, so I synthesized as much argument and research as I could in this article. Feel free to share! I’d also be happy to talk to you about it. https://medium.com/@harley.litzelman/cops-dont-keep-kids-safe-at-school-5e6fbf258233
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Mr. Litzelman, this is an outstanding article. I very much hope that everyone who comes to this page will take the time to read it. You make powerful arguments, supported by substantive evidence. Thank you.
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Yes, terrific article, covers all the bases. Thanks for this comprehensive analysis.
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As others have pointed out, this was traumatizing to the little girl.
The video was hard to watch, but I forced myself to watch till the end. I seem to have missed the part where the arrested six-year-old was read her Miranda rights.
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Today, a 6 year old girl; tomorrow, the next George Floyd.
VILE!
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Here is another version of the reporting and the video. There are multiple problems here. There appears to be only one caregiver for the child, her grandmother. The officer was supposed to follow a rule to check with a higher officer and get a clearance for any arrest of a child age 12 or under. The officer was an hourly worker ($33 per hour) and, from this report TWO officers were assigned to a school with 89 students, the majority of them in kindergarten also Black, with a few Latinx students. The grandmother said the child is suffering from sleep apnea. She certainly looks sleep-deprived in the close-up videos. From the school website: The school has been around for about five years, with no increases in teacher staffing, but adding students each year almost all in Kindergarten. Staff student ratio is about 1 to 18 students.
https://www.clickorlando.com/2019/09/25/school-admins-say-they-didnt-want-6-year-old-children-to-be-arrested-2/
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Thanks for link. Laura. Thought this was an interesting footnote: “Orange County Public School officials told News 6 the arrests did not happen at a public school. There are several privately operated charter schools in Orlando.” According to OCPS’ own website, there’s no such distinction. https://www.ocps.net/departments/school_choice/charter_schools
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Regardless of what type of school the child was attending, public, charter, or very private, this arrest should have NEVER happened. NEVR!!!
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The school should have NEVER called the police to arrest a baby and zip tie her hands. What a traumatic experience for the child.
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Diane they didn’t have to call the police. Turner, the arresting officer, was a retired Orlando cop working as an SRO at the school.
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Wow, a cop for 89 students in K-3!
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Right?! FL post-Parkland-shooting law now requires one in “every public school”!
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What a traumatic experience for any sentient human being!
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I had a music class that had up to 80 students in the Ensemble and I was able to produce an unbelievable experience for all. This was a school in Brooklyn and you have to learn and gather experience in your “tool box.” Five teachers can’t help a 6 year who is acting out. You really have to call the police…. not only was it ridiculous for the police officer to arrest the 6 yr. old… but does that say about the school!!!!
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Further reading shows SRO Dennis Turner made another arrest – of an 8-y.o. boy – on the same day at the same school. He was fired a few days later for not getting watch commander approval of either – required for arrest of child under 12. (I gather since then Orlando has moved approval level up to 2nd in command.). The other officer in the 6-y.o. girl’s case, summoned to assist from the dept, was not fired; seems he tried a # of times to contact superiors expressing concerns with her arrest.
Thank goodness for a quick-witted school staff member taking video. Defense attys released it to public in Sept after police said no, not until after investigation – then Turner was fired. (Police officially released it in Feb.) Without video we can be assured
such nonsense would have continued whenever SRO Turner was having a bad-hair day.
The scenario as played out mainly suggests structural/ systemic problems. Onsite staff consists of two admins in addition to the 5 classroom teachers: office mgr & interim principal. Apparently neither is qualified as teacher support when a kid has a meltdown. Cheaper to hire an SRO [i.e., bouncer] than an appropriate professional. Which they probably need, if they have more kids like this one, i.e., a kid in need of an IEP [suffers from something chronic requiring medication, media describes variously as narcolepsy & sleep deprivation]. Not sure whether our ire should fall on teachers. The teacher who got kicked & punched [by a tiny 6-y.o. girl] may have “pressed charges” – or – it’s entirely possible law allows the SRO is to initiate arrest sans that nicety. Regardless, the admin structure leans toward precipitating this scenario.
Which gets us back around to FL govt & its nutty push to cheap school-choice alternatives, incentivizing startup of multiple tiny schools like this one, which can’t afford the kind of professional staff that would – presumably – be onsite sometimes, & when not, w/n as short a drive as is the police dept. With no state reqts protecting its most vulnerable. But then, I’ve read of similar FL pubsch incidents. Maybe this isn’t just about charter schools in FL…
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Update: Turner, as an SRO working at the Lucius and Emma Nixon charter school, had all the authority of a uniformed cop. Nobody had to call cops; he was there. Per this article, Turner was one of a number of retired cops in the SRO force who had a history making him a dubious choice. 20 yrs prior he was suspended for physically abusing his own 7-yr-old son. 4 yrs prior he was suspended for tasing a trespassing suspect 5 times (2 after the man was on the ground). https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida/articles/2019-11-17/report-retired-cops-with-disciplinary-pasts-work-at-schools
FL has created this situation w/ its 2018 post-Parkland legislative mandate that all public schools have an armed officer on campus.
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In May, 2017, a 16-year old boy in Naperville, IL killed himself after being sent to the dean’s office at his high school, where the dean & a police officer spoke w/him about having a
“porn” video of himself & another teen having consensual sex (they did not find this on the boy’s phone). After talking to him, w/the police telling him that this could cause them to have to deem him a “registered sex offender,” they left the boy alone to wait for his mother. Frightened, the boy ran out, went to the top of a nearby parking garage & jumped to his death. Just the night before, the family had been discussing college visits.
The next day his parents were planning his funeral.
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That case has direct bearing, & makes my blood boil.
Yes- not even a porn “video” – recorded phone sex w/a classmate, which the kid then played back for buddies.
Over the subsequent 2 yrs, the family sued city and district for wrongful death, judge dismissed case, family appealed, & shortly city & district settled for $125k each, w/o admitting wrongdoing.
These excerpts of Judge Andrea Wood’s dismissal SAY IT ALL ABOUT INVOLVING POLICE IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE MATTERS: “The judge ruled school and police were doing their jobs… their actions were aimed at uncovering whether Walgren had engaged in criminal misconduct… While the interrogation tactics employed by the deans and police were harsh and aggressive, they were nonetheless ordinary police interrogation tactics.”
Unaddressed, and to me the most egregious breach: that student, a 16-y.o., was being interrogated by police – acknowledged by judge, as her decision rests on laws about police interrogation – without a parent present (let alone a lawyer)!. Judge claims defendants had no specific intent to separate Walgren from his parent. That’s rich. They notified the mother, who said she’d leave work immediately and be there within 50mins. Meanwhile they conducted their “harsh and aggressive” 18-min interview– then left the kid unattended to wait for his mother. That wouldn’t have happened at a police station!
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Why does,this sort of thing continue to happen with apparently no abatement under the current climate? Have none of these police officers read any news article ever over the last few years?
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Aside from that, WHERE did this “Dean” receive his college education & administrative training? When a child is in “trouble” (& this seemed to be a case of j’accuse), aren’t the PARENTS supposed to be called FIRST, before even involving the police?!
I know, Duane…a real adminimal.
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Great point! Why were police even called, & once they were, why didn’t the Dean mitigate their action? Apparently he has seen any news reports for years, either
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—>hasn’t<— seen any news reports…
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Also, at my school, there was an incident where three 6th graders stole field trip money from a teacher’s unlocked desk drawer (most of the students in the school were on free lunch), which she had placed in the drawer directly IN FRONT of her ENTIRE homeroom advisory. (Why hadn’t she asked one of the 2 school secretaries or the A.P. to take it from her to be placed in the school office and locked up?!) Additionally, this was a “school w/o walls”: rooms were separated by drywall, open &, of course, no doors at all.
Therefore, the kids could sneak in during lunch or after school (which is what they did: she’d left it in the unlocked drawer the ENTIRE day. The school’s police liaison was a young & nasty guy (he wound up getting into some real trouble himself, later), & he told the boys they were being taken to the police station, & their parents had to come get them
(he even expressed the thought he might put them in a cell). The youngest–who had ADD–cried his eyes out. The oldest–a foster child who had been in many homes, & was a 14-year-old 6th Grade SpEd student–admitted that he was a “thief,” had stolen before, & had coerced the other two into helping. The third sixth grader was a bright kid who was high on the autism spectrum, & had no remorse or feelings about the theft. All 3 had really good moms, & it was extremely stressful for them. (The foster child was in a very good family, but they wound up sending him back into the “system,” because he was trying to negatively influence their younger son too many times.)
That having been said, at another middle school I taught at, the police liaison was the most helpful, protective & kindest person I knew. He kept the high school gang recruiters away from the school; he broke up fights; he spoke WITH the students; he treated students to lunch; he was a Big Brother outside of school.
When he retired, everyone at the school cried…especially the grownups (me)!
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