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Mom, 5-year-old girl in video fires lawyer, moving out of state
St. Petersburg Times ^ | April 26, 2005 | THOMAS C. TOBIN

Posted on 04/26/2005 5:02:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

ST. PETERSBURG - The mother of the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed at school by police has withdrawn her daughter from Pinellas public schools and is moving out of state, superintendent Clayton Wilcox said Monday night.

The development was the latest in a bizarre saga that began Friday, when a videotape of the handcuffing was made public.

Since then, wrenching video images of the wailing kindergartener being handcuffed by St. Petersburg police have raced around the globe, airing and re-airing on television news shows in the United States, Great Britain, Spain, around Asia and beyond.

On Monday morning, the Largo lawyer representing the girl's mother appeared on five network news shows. He returned wearily to his office to find a fax from the mother, 24-year-old Inga Akins, stating he had been fired. The fax had been sent from the tabloid TV show A Current Affair, on which the mother appeared Friday and Monday.

Also on Monday came the prospect that the Rev. Al Sharpton would be coming to town. The famous New York crusader and one-time presidential candidate is intrigued and considering weighing in on the episode, his staff said.

"Instantly he felt that it smelled bad, but he wants to research it first," said his spokeswoman Rachel Nordlinger. "It could be a case of police brutality or a case of her civil rights being violated."

Wilcox had no further information on Akins' move to pull the girl out of school. She was handcuffed at Fairmount Park Elementary on March 14 and transferred to another public school after the incident.

Wilcox said he found out about her leaving the system when he asked his staff Monday how she was doing in the new school.

A call to Akins' cell phone went unreturned Monday night.

Pinellas County records show that a St. Petersburg apartment complex where she lived moved to evict her on March 31, about two weeks after the handcuffing that put her daughter's face on TV screens across he world.

Wilcox said the girl had been out of school since Thursday.

John Trevena, who had been serving as the attorney for Akins, said he learned from an executive producer at A Current Affair that the girl and her mother traveled to New York City over the weekend, where they stayed at the show's expense.

The case of the handcuffed little girl was the top story on the tabloid program Monday night, with images of the girl smelling a flower and running through a park laughing.

The show interviewed a child psychologist who said the handcuffing might be racially motivated. A Current Affair also said the girl "had to flee her home to escape the media."

The show blamed Trevena's release of the video to major media outlets last week, including the St. Petersburg Times . The lawyer said a producer from the show "raged" at him last Friday, saying the release of the video violated an exclusive agreement between Akins and A Current Affair.

Trevena said he had been unaware of any agreement.

The show made no mention of its part in the media frenzy that has followed the video.

A Current Affair clearly communicated it had every intention of running the videotape, Trevena said. He also said the show interviewed Akins and her daughter only days after the handcuffing incident.

On Friday, a few hours after the video began screaming across the world, the show announced to the media that it had an exclusive.

It sent out a news release titled: "Five-year-old African American girl handcuffed by three police officers. A Current Affair gets first national look at incident on tape."

The program Monday evening did not disclose on air how much it had paid Akins for the story. When asked what the sum was Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the show laughed at the question. She said there would be no comment on the story.

Trevena called the program's actions "highly unethical and possibly illegal." He said he was concerned that his client was in New York discussing the case with another party without legal advice.

The videotape shows the girl defying an assistant principal and another school staff member as she tore items off walls and swung at the educators.

Later, it shows the girl in the assistant principal's office tearing items off a bulletin board, climbing on a table and swinging at the assistant principal numerous times.

The video ends after about 28 minutes with the girl crying as three St. Petersburg police officers place her in handcuffs.

The girl had a history of problems at the school, though the full extent is not known because student records are not public.

District officials have discussed an incident several weeks before the handcuffing in which a city police officer was called to the school because of a behavior problem with the girl. The officer said something to her about the possibility of being handcuffed if her behavior continued.

Akins later objected to that conversation, part of an ongoing feud with the school over her daughter's treatment.

District officials say the video started as an exercise by the girl's teacher to improve her craft in the classroom. But they acknowledge that the girl's history may have played a part in the decision to keep the camera rolling that day.

Though city police are being harshly criticized for their role in the incident, the department declined Wednesday to elaborate on the rationale for the handcuffing, citing a pending investigation.

Police spokesman Bill Proffitt said the department stood by a statement made in mid March, which was that department policy allows the handcuffing of minors in certain situations.

How did an incident that received mild attention in March blossom into a worldwide phenomenon five weeks later?

The video, said Matthew Felling, media director at The Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.

"It's not necessarily about the little girl, it's about the visceral nature of it," he said. "Is it compelling? Yes. Is it emotional porn? Yes. Is it internationally relevant news? No."

He said too many media outlets had been airing only part of the video, which is about 28 minutes long.

"This story is driven by 10 seconds of footage - two seconds of the tantrum and eight seconds of handcuffing," he said. "Completely taken out of context, but that is the media's way."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: applefellclose2tree; education; enabler; mamawheresmypa; media; mino; motherinnameonly; msm; stupidbrats; whereisthedad; worldsworstmom
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To: zeaal

She knew the cops had authority and that the school had none.


221 posted on 04/26/2005 8:07:00 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"Teachers either have no ability to discipline or have no permission to discipline."

Who allowed this to happen?

222 posted on 04/26/2005 8:07:18 AM PDT by sageb1
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

A current affair got the mother's lawyer fired because he released the video ?

IOW the show was not concerned about reality, the show was going to show just the selct clips to edit the teacher in the worst possible light instead of the full showing that was actually shown.

This is the program the produced Bill O'Reily.


223 posted on 04/26/2005 8:07:34 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: sageb1

LIBERALS and lawyers.


224 posted on 04/26/2005 8:10:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

The "Arts/Life" section of my local paper today has 3 main articles.

1) In re: the school shootings at Red Lake High School, why do kids stay silent when they know their peers are into dangerous things?

2) Youth Court for teens. Trial and jury by peers.

3) "Today's teens taking porn for granted"


225 posted on 04/26/2005 8:16:06 AM PDT by sageb1
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To: Dallas59

"...Little terror! I remember being spanked on my butt for talking in Kindergarden! Racism my a**...."

The kid was alright as long as she was calling the shots. Look at her face when the cops arrive and start doing what they did. Complete change of behavior. Even at that age, she KNEW she couldn't pull a snow job on the LEO's. Best thing for her, IMHO. The teachers and assistant principal handled a bad situation in the proper manner. I saw nothing wrong with their methods at control. The other kids in the classroom must have been ushered out so the teacher(s) could handle this one discipline problem. Their learning was delayed because of one kid.
Let Tawana Brawley's former bloodsucking rep go down to Florida. he'll make a lot of noise but he'll get nowhere with it. Just like Brawley's case. He may get a lot of property destroyed because of his muckraking. He should be held accountable for that eventuality. Just another case in a long line of school problems. So sad.


226 posted on 04/26/2005 8:18:33 AM PDT by NCC-1701 (AN ACTIVIST JUDICIARY IS A CULT!!!!! IT MUST BE ERADICATED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH.)
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To: nina0113
Three quick smacks would have stopped that tantrum, and traumatized her a lot less than being taken away in handcuffs.

Bingo !

227 posted on 04/26/2005 8:19:09 AM PDT by jimt
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To: zeaal
"At the very end of the police portion of the video (that you don't hear on TV) ... the officer questioned the girl if she remembered him and that he is the one that her mom told to put hand-cuffs on her. Sounds like MOM told the officer to do it. Not excusing the officer, but sounds like a fear tactic the mom was using to get the girl to behave."

Whoa!! That throws a whole nuther light on the situation! It explains why she "fired her lawyer " for releasing the tapes! It explains why she is up and moving to get the hell out of Dodge!

What's next? She gonna find a finger in some chile somewhere?

I am so sick of dishonest people. They all might as well come here to Washington and count votes. Jeeeez louise...
228 posted on 04/26/2005 8:19:40 AM PDT by djf
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Why did this story take over a month to be aired?


229 posted on 04/26/2005 8:20:00 AM PDT by Sundown2005
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Wanna bet Inga is a single mom?


230 posted on 04/26/2005 8:21:23 AM PDT by Sundown2005
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To: JCEccles

I can't speak for all situations that face black parents and students. But, there are times when black students who excel at school are picked on or called "white" which can be very hurtful. There is some weird kind of pressure that comes with being smart. As parents we really have to make sure that we stress the importance of education to our young people and make sure we talk about the pressure of having to fit in. It is a shame that when we have so many obstacles to overcome, that one of them would be our own mindset.


231 posted on 04/26/2005 8:23:37 AM PDT by brwnsuga (Proud, Black, Conservative!)
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To: NCLaw441

1 - 50
Here are the Top 50 baby names for the year 2003.

1) Jacob and Emily

2) Michael and Emma

3) Joshua and Madison

4) Matthew and Hannah

5) Andrew and Olivia

6) Joseph and Abigail

7) Ethan and Alexis

8) Daniel and Ashley

9) Christopher and Elizabeth

10) Anthony and Samantha

11) William and Isabella

12) Ryan and Sarah

13) Nicholas and Grace

14) David and Alyssa

15) Tyler and Lauren

16) Alexander and Kayla

17) John and Brianna

18) James and Jessica

19) Dylan and Taylor

20) Zachary and Sophia

21) Brandon and Anna

22) Jonathan and Victoria

23) Samuel and Natalie

24) Christian and Chloe

25) Benjamin and Sydney

26) Justin and Hailey

27) Nathan and Jasmine

28) Jose and Rachel

29) Logan and Morgan

30) Gabriel and Megan

31) Kevin and Jennifer

32) Noah and Kaitlyn

33) Austin and Julia

34) Caleb and Haley

35) Robert and Mia

36) Thomas and Katherine

37) Elijah and Destiny

38) Jordan and Alexandra

39) Aidan and Nicole

40) Cameron and Maria

41) Hunter and Ava

42) Jason and Savannah

43) Angel and Brooke

44) Connor and Ella

45) Evan and Allison

46) Jack and Mackenzie

47) Luke and Paige

48) Isaac and Stephanie

49) Aaron and Jordan

50) Isaiah and Kylie

his information is compiled each year by the Social Security Administration.

http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/gettingready/a/babynames.htm


232 posted on 04/26/2005 8:24:06 AM PDT by Kokojmudd (Today's Liberal is Tomorrow's Prospective Flying Saucer Abductee)
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To: Gone GF
That said, I agree with avoiding names that sound completely foreign or names that make a pun or joke. When both our children were born we looked for a name we liked, that wasn't bizarre, but that we didn't hear a lot.

Same here, a common name for our son that wasn't so common anymore...towards the bottom of the annual "Top 500 Baby Names".

233 posted on 04/26/2005 8:24:39 AM PDT by soundandvision
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To: SoVaDPJ

LOL


234 posted on 04/26/2005 8:25:15 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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To: djf
""At the very end of the police portion of the video (that you don't hear on TV) ... the officer questioned the girl if she remembered him and that he is the one that her mom told to put hand-cuffs on her. Sounds like MOM told the officer to do it. Not excusing the officer, but sounds like a fear tactic the mom was using to get the girl to behave."

I don't think so! The cops were probably tired of responding to problems with this particular child and they probably suggested that the next time they had to answer a call about her, they were going to attempt to change her behavior by trying something a little more drastic. Like I said before, it is a tough love issue. Obviously, this child was used to behaving like this and no drastic steps had ever been taken by her mother to stop the behavior.

235 posted on 04/26/2005 8:25:39 AM PDT by sageb1
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To: brwnsuga

Well, let's be brutally honest here. The last ten times or so that I heard the "N" word, about 9 of those times, it came out of the mouth of a person of color.

(True, Chris Rock makes up about 3 of those, but the point remains...)


236 posted on 04/26/2005 8:28:15 AM PDT by djf
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To: sageb1

As a matter of fact, it makes it all the more understandable why the 911 operator (TX?) jokingly asked the distraught mother if she wanted them to come and shoot her daughter.


237 posted on 04/26/2005 8:28:41 AM PDT by sageb1
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"Instantly he felt that it smelled bad, but he wants to research it first," said his spokeswoman Rachel Nordlinger. "It could be a case of police brutality or a case of her civil rights being violated."

The show interviewed a child psychologist who said the handcuffing might be racially motivated. A Current Affair also said the girl "had to flee her home to escape the media."

The videotape shows the girl defying an assistant principal and another school staff member as she tore items off walls and swung at the educators.

Later, it shows the girl in the assistant principal's office tearing items off a bulletin board, climbing on a table and swinging at the assistant principal numerous times.

It sounds to me like another undisciplined brat who's too young to be thrown to the floor and swarmed. Handcuffing her sounds like the correct decision.

238 posted on 04/26/2005 8:29:32 AM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: SoftballMominVA
This is where schools are now. The teachers have no power or respect. The last line of defense are the policemen who are forced by the situation to perform the distasteful task of handcuffing a 5 year old.

I've been screaming this for years. I had several girl-friends (not girlfriends) that were young teachers and they would tell me the horror stories. They really don't have ANY power at this point. This is partly the fault of the teachers unions and partly the fault of communities for going soft.

I think you can also see a sharp rise in the lack of discipline at home and at school and the need to medicate every other kid, it seems. It's ALL nothing that a little discipline wouldn't fix, pronto.

239 posted on 04/26/2005 8:30:44 AM PDT by soundandvision
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To: sageb1

The beginning of my post is a quote. If the quote is true, then the mom asked the cops to cuff her.
Then, she wants to come along later and sue somebody for doing what she asked.


240 posted on 04/26/2005 8:30:54 AM PDT by djf
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