If it were my child that were hit in the head with a rock, and I knew that he and several of his friends had been teasing that rock thrower, he'd be in trouble himself. She said they were hitting her with water balloons. She reacted, who can blame her? The parents of the children involved should have been able to deal with the situation. Grabbing the girl, cuffing her, detaining her in a juvenile facility, putting her on trial for a felony assault is really too much. She's 11. Does she has a record of violent assaults which makes a trial a logical next step? Or was this one isolated incident where a little girl felt threatened by a group of boys throwing water balloons at her? I think she's getting a raw deal.
We don't really know the answers to those questions. And most parents, even if their kid started it, would be all about the rock thrower getting the book thrown at them. You might not be, but most parents, upon seeing their child bloodied are sure that the other child is at fault and someone should pay dearly.
I do think that even if the other kid deserved it, we don't need to encourage kids to take revenge in the case of something as minor as having water balloons tossed at you. Maybe she really had no other recourse, but the story doesnt' say that.
Anyway, from the info it sounds as if the police over reacted, but her parents will now over react with a lawsuit, I suspect. She doesn't deserve a million dollar settlement.
susie