We can handcuff him and get blamed for that, or we can physically restrain him and get compared to Penn State's issue with young boys. Once the situation reached that level, handcuffs were not out of line. The correct answer would be for the enabling mom to teach her child that actions have consequences, even for him, and that he needs to learn coping mechanisms. The correct answer for the school would have been to distract him before he reached that level. I don't have much hope that common sense will break out on either side of the school-family divide in this situation.
“The correct answer for the school would have been to distract him before he reached that level.”
Adults can’t always be around to “distract” children before they throw a fit. The ultimate lesson that a child learns if adults are constantly “distracting” them to avoid physical violence is “if other people don’t distract me/placate me in time, my violent behavior is their fault.”
All children need to learn to control their behavior without reaching that level (unless the situation warrants kicking or attacking an adult, such as fighting off an adult assailant).