Autistic 10 year old jailed for kicking para professional

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Well even if a 10 year old is intentionally acting out/being bad...jail time and a criminal sentence doesn't seem the best solution.

Being autistic is not the same thing as being bad. I think the condition and the behavior should be considered separately.

Well even if a 10 year old is intentionally acting out/being bad...jail time and a criminal sentence doesn't seem the best solution.

I smell paper trail to get this kid into something like residential treatment center or out of the gen ed population.

ROFLMAO!

Welcome the United Police States of America, with the biggest for profit prison system in the world. Got to keep those jail cells filled, one way or another. At least they didn't shoot the kid, beat him up, or teaser him.

If the video shocks you, and it should, imagine how often children with autism or other disabilities are being arrested in situations where there's no video, no parent present and no viral outrage. If teachers, administrators, and cops continue to criminalize children for violating what I have come to call a "cult of compliance," punishing them for acting in ways that come naturally, how can we decriminalize disability?

Last October, the boy -- John Benjamin Haygood -- was being disruptive and allegedly hit, kicked and scratched his teacher's aide on three separate occasions, according to an incident report from the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
The report says that John expressed frustration over his work being too hard and that he needed more help but his aide wasn't helping him enough. During the second incident, the report says that John's father alleged that the aide had pinched his son. John was throwing paper balls, allegedly hitting other children, and refused to go on timeout. When his aide tried to remove him from the class, John hit and kicked at him, the report says.
At the time of the third incident on November 1, his aide decided to press charges. Recently in a statement, the aide said that he only pressed the charges to "get [John's] mother to realize he needs additional help." He's indicated that he may drop the charges, claiming the lesson has been learned. But the trauma resulting from the arrest, charges or not, won't quickly fade. It is unclear why the 10-year-old was now being arrested, six months after the incident. His mother said that she was not notified of any charges or warrants out for her son's arrest.

As the video went viral this week, I called up several experts. Matthew Dietz, a disability rights lawyer in Florida, told me that disabled students being arrested for disciplinary offenses are all too common.
For example, "I represent a 6-year-old who was arrested and held in a psych unit for 72 hours and placed in seclusion," he said. "So the only thing surprising is it (the Florida incident) was on video."
Dietz said he is worried about the school-to-prison pipeline. "For many children," he told me, "use of police and detention facilities for minor behavioral issues leads to a life involved with the criminal justice system."

Finn Gardiner, a graduate student who is autistic and studying at Brandeis University's Heller School, similarly emphasized how common these incidents are.
"Usually," he said, "when you hear about these kinds of cases, (the kids) are black or Latino." He said that disabled youth of all races are disproportionately "more likely to get suspended, likely to be expelled from school, likely to have negative contact with school resource officers (cops in school) and more likely to be sent to 'juvenile justice.'"
The data backs this up. A Center for Public Integrity study found that although about 14% of all Florida students have disabilities, they make up 19% of all arrests.
However, the state is far from having the worst percentage. Disabled students in Delaware make up nearly 17% of the school system but amount to 34% of arrests. Nearly 20% of New Hampshire students are disabled, but they represent 39% percent of arrests.

Why are schools so reliant on law enforcement? Crane told me that she and other disability rights advocates are worried that schools are using law enforcement to sidestep compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was passed to ensure that students with disabilities received appropriate services and education.
She said, "By referring a kid to law enforcement, the school can bypass IDEA's procedures for suspension and expulsion of kids with disabilities."
If a behavior is determined to be disability-related, the school must address it as an educational issue. But, she said, "There's no such requirement when referring a kid to law enforcement. Schools are actually telling teachers and paraprofessionals to press charges against students, in order to get the students out of their class."

I represent a 6-year-old who was arrested and held in a psych unit for 72 hours and placed in seclusion

John Benjamin, 10, was arrested April 12 on a juvenile take and hold warrant charging him with battery on a school board employee — a third-degree felony. The boy was arrested on school grounds by Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) deputies.

First, the boy was arrested on school grounds after having gone there to take a test even though he was currently under suspension.

Secondly, the arrest warrant was issued in November of 2016 after an incident in which the boy allegedly kicked and scratched a teacher. John Benjamin was suspended from school after that alleged incident.

A Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) representative then told Judge Bryant that John Benjamin is scheduled to have an intake hearing Monday, May 15. At that hearing John Benjamin and his family will be told about the services offered by DJJ that include therapy and counseling.

The family will then have the opportunity to sign a contract that will allow DJJ to provide these services to John Benjamin.

If they don’t sign the pact, John Benjamin will be back in Judge Bryant’s courtroom for docket call Thursday, May 25.

Said assistant state attorney Ashley Albright: “If the family doesn’t sign that contract, the boy will have to be back in court May 25 for docket call and a date will be set for a non-jury trial.”

The prosecutor went on to explain if the family enters into the pact with DJJ, he will drop the charge filed against the youngster.

“Most everyone does (sign the contract),” he continued. “It’s in their best interest because then he won’t have a criminal history.”

When talking about the incident that led to John Benjamin’s arrest, Mr. Albright said he has been able to document 55 incidents committed by the boy while in the Okeechobee school system.

“That’s only physical aggression against the other children or faculty,” he noted.

Some of the documented incidents include kicking, biting, spitting and punching.

The prosecutor then offered a few specific incidents.

• On one occasion, the boy kicked a male coach in the groin.

• The boy punched another student in the face.

• The boy stabbed another student with a pencil after he had just sharpened it and the pencil went through the other child’s jacket and punctured the skin.

• The boy intentionally stomped on a female teacher’s foot while wearing steel-toed boots and broke three of her toes. “Then, when she returned to work, he stomped on her same toes and said she deserved it,” said Mr. Albright.

• On two different occasions John Benjamin told teachers he was going to come back with a gun and kill them.

It has also been documented the boy was suspended from school for kicking and scratching para-professional Brandon Rose. After the child was suspended, Mr. Rose signed an agreement to drop the charges against John Benjamin on April 19.

That agreement, which was obtained by this newspaper on a public records request, stated Mr. Rose’s reason for dismissing the charge was because the boy “… is not in the classroom to where he may (be) a threat to other students.

“I pressed charges in order to get the ball rolling to get his mother to realize he needs additional help. I think it is now understood the additional help is needed. The students are back in a safe environment and the class can resume instruction.”