Kids are kids; if they had complete control over their emotions, they'd not be considered kids. Officer saw she'd calmed down, saw there was nothing serious (other than a complaining by my daughter about how I'd been explaining over and over again what she did wrong and to beg the officer to make me stop...he laughed.)
More than a few times during her pre-teen years, she begged me to just spank her rather than just explaining everything calmly and rationally. She felt (and I somewhat agree) that it was probably crueler for all that calm reaction rather than a quick swat to the southbound side of the northbound child.
Had she thrown a fit like she did at Pasadena Powwow or Pechanga in school and the school committed her for 48 or 72 hours.. I'd understand it. Those were some extremely violent reactions and both times it literally took tossing her over the shoulder and putting her in an isolated space so she could regain her control.
Considering our insane laws, our over litigious citizenry, honestly, can't blame the school in this case. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Least they have something to back things up with, though if she was still acting out when she reached the ward, that's of extreme concern in my opinion (and pretty much unfit for public school... Oh, right, that's a dirty phrase now, everyone gets mainstreamed...)