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 PETERSBURG - The mother of the 5-year-old girl who was handcuffed at school by police has withdrawn her daughter from Pinellas public schools and is moving out of state, superintendent Clayton Wilcox said Monday night.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."
Any guesses as to what mom and dad were smoking when she came to be?
>>It is a shame they couldn't contact the mother before the police arrived.<<
They did and the mother refused to come to the school.
Boy, things have really changed. If that had been me acting up in school, my father would have left work and come down there and kicked my ass into shape pronto. No more problem from me.
But the question remains.......how would you have removed her from the school into the awaiting police car, without her running away or punching out the officers?
I actually saw it on Italian TV (not that I speak Italian). The Italian news anchor said "een creh dee' beh leh!".
The best intervention would be to take the child and hold her closely, keeping her arms and legs controlled with the adult's arms and hands. I've done this with my granddaughter who is 4 1/2. We call it a "holding time out." It's difficult to do. If either the teacher or the principal or the police officer had done it, there would also have been a huge outcry. The handcuffing was to protect the child as well as the adults involved. There were few choices. I do think that the three police officers could have surrounded her and talked with her for a while, deflecting her blows and limiting her range. After a while, she would have tired. It would have taken more time. Having said that, however, the knee jerk reaction of the mother and the media and now maybe the discrimination pimps, is much more abusive to this child than anything that the police did.
The best intervention would be to take the child and hold her closely, keeping her arms and legs controlled with the adult's arms and hands...
***
Unfortunately, in this litigous society we live in, the parent still might have sued, claiming this technique caused some physical harm to the child. I kinda get the feeling the folks at the school were afraid to touch her in any way for fear of such a lawsuit.
If the mother had backed up the actions of the school and the cops, she would have learned an invaluable lession. Now all we'll hear about is how "the poor child has been traumatized for life."
If the "trauma" taught her that her behavior was completely unacceptable, the handcuffing could have changed the child's life for the good. I fear her mother won't allow that to happen.
Only one of my children ever had a temper tantrum. My mom had come for lunch and one of my twin daughters, who was two at the time, threw a tantrum, complete with rolling on the floor, flailing her arms and feet. I was in shock as she'd never done this before. I was also embarrassed that she was doing it while my mother was visiting. My mom very calmly said to me, "Ignore her." It was very hard to do. But that's exactly what we did. Within a few short minutes, my daughter's tantrum ended and she never had another one. Her tantrum had not gotten her the attention she thought it would and she knew it was pointless to ever bother trying it again.
"Ja'eisha and Anfernee and the like are NOT names "of African origin."
Ummm, I never said they were.
"They are concocted by parents who want to make their children stand out."
So are we saying no new names can ever be concocted any more? Only already-established names are allowed? Or can you make up a new name only if it sounds more, let's say, "conventional?"
LOL.
A lady named Buffy picks up my grandchildren every morning to take them to school, and her husband's name is Jody!
That would explain a lot! ;o)
Dang! Six kids and I never had one quick enough to say that! ;o)
Same here and I fear I don't live up to half of the man he was..
Al was going to advise that if the Mom wants to make more money he would smear the girl with fecal matter and put her in a bag.
Yeah it sure would :o)
I suggest tha "mom" get the daughter back into school before they arrest and handcuff her for not enrolling a minor in school.
aisha tyler
http://www.askmen.com/women/models_150/161_aisha_tyler.html
ethnic names are apparently NOT a problem in some fields of endeavor.
http://www.tvtome.com/Moesha/
the idea that the name is the problem, posted by some here, is ridiculous to consider.
Now if the parent(s) named her 'rocko' or 'benjamin' I might think they were messing with her... but not jaisha or similar.
Sorry, but your family didn't make that up, it's biblical.
If you didn't recognize that one, probably some of the others weren't "original" either.
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