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 PETERSBURG - The mother of the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed at school by police has withdrawn her daughter from Pinellas public schools and is moving out of state, superintendent Clayton Wilcox said Monday night.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."
This woman gives new meaning to the phrase, 'media whore'.
Although, she is to be commended for her decision to move out of Florida.
I don't even know where to start pronouncing that.
Children need to understand that they are an important part of a family, of a community, of the world. But too many parents nowadays are doing so much for their children that the children begin to get a sense of entitlement. They are not growing up understanding that one must earn self-esteem. They think it is something they are entitled to. Unfortunately, this has also become a big thing in our schools. We have to get back to teaching children that they must earn respect; that material rewards for doing the right thing, or doing well on an assignment are not the important thing. As parents, we must stop competing with the "Jones." That's a tough one for parents. If Johnny's parents decide to buy Johnny a car, we feel guilty if we don't do the same. I am speaking in general terms and there is so much more I could say - we have made things too safe in some ways, too child-centric.
There, fixed that little boo-boo.
The girl is an out of control brat, and her mother better start teaching her some manners before she becomes an out of control teenager or young adult. If mom won't do it, I'm sure the authorities and the jailhouse staff will do so down the road.
I tell you what . . . watching "Nanny 911" made me realize that potential parents should be licensed.
I have no children, and even I know that saying "Now, don't hit Mommy" in a sweet voice six or seven times doesn't do a freakin' thing to a mad two-year-old. I am stunned at the parents on those shows who let their children become little savages because "disciplining is just so hard and I feel mean when I do it."
This is a very common occurrence. At the same time, however, we have children who are put into special ed programs when they really don't belong in them -just because the money is available. I wouldn't want to be a teacher in this day and age. Even the best teachers who understand that children have different learning styles and who want to give these children the extra one-on-one attention they need are frustrated by all they are required to do. They KNOW, perhaps, that a certain child just needs a little extra help, but they don't have the time to give him or her anymore. So what do they do? They recommend that the child be put on ritalin or they recommend the child for special ed. Don't get me wrong. Special ed is very important for those who need it, but too many kids are being put into these programs because the teachers don't have the time to give them a little extra attention.
Nanny 911 isn't helping to encourage me to have children :-) My mom should be on that show. She give a broomstick clinic on how how to properly whap you on the butt even when you scoot under the bed.
I have zero sympathy for a screaming banshee of a five-year-old.
When I was five, I knew right from wrong. My three-year-old niece knows right from wrong.
My parents spanked my brother and me when we needed it. Not hard --open palm -- and it caused just enough discomfort when we tried to sit down for a few days, that we were reminded of our bad deed and we were deterred from doing something similar again.
Nowadays, if you spank, it's child abuse. Schools can no longer use corporal punishment either, or they will be sued.
I don't advocate hitting or beating a child -- but a spanking should not cause permanent damage to a child, and it might actually make that child a better person. I know it worked wonders for my brother and me.
The most important thing a child needs is a good example. My father worked three jobs, but he taught me so much about being an honest, hard-working, respectful human being. God rest his soul!
How about moving out of the country?
If she sues, all the other parents should sue HER for not allowing the school to transfer her child thereby disrupting the education of their children. Fight fire with fire.
I heard it reported that the eviction was started two weeks before the incident. Somebody is wrong.
I saw a checkout girl once whose name was Sinsemilla.
True story - I swear.
I have to admit that I can't give the show a fair review because I haven't seen it, but the one review I saw made me swear I'd never turn it on. Perhaps I should - just to see what potential mommies are going to learn from watching this show. It doesn't sound good.
I agree with you -- we shunt too many kids into programs they should not be in and put them on ritalin when they don't need to be. But then we have the opposite extreme -- parents all too quick to blame others, instead of looking to see if their child has a problem and if so, to find the best solution. Neither of these extremes help the child, and it's the child who should be the main concern.
I agree, these ''parents'' who give their children names from the afro-sounding but nobody on the continent has that name, or naming their kids after animals or natural phenomena should be arrested for abuse.
'Moon Unit', 'Dweezil', 'Ahmet' & 'Diva Muffin' Zappa ought to qualify but Frank is still dead so you can't arrest him.
Of course, things would be much simpler if black people stuck to naming their kids good African names like 'Nelson' & 'Winnie' but, what the hay...Lew Alcindor was a funky enough name but he had to go & change it to something even funkier and, you know what, most of us got used to it. : )
Ja'eisha and Anfernee and the like are NOT names "of African origin." They are concocted by parents who want to make their children stand out.
(Like Ja'eisha won't stand out in the line-up that awaits her a decade hence.)
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