See this"inappropriate expression"? Its NFS but even if it was I bet you couldnt afford it
Posted on 02/23/2011 7:14:14 AM PST by beaversmom
ARVADA, Colo. -- Arvada Police are defending the way they handled the arrest of an 11-year-old boy. The Arvada boy was arrested and hauled away in handcuffs from his home for drawing stick figures in school - something his therapist told him to do.
His parents say they understand what he did was inappropriate, but are outraged by the way Arvada Police handled the case. The parents did not want their real names used.
They say "Tim" is being treated for Attention Deficit Disorder and his therapist told him to draw pictures when he got upset, rather than disrupt the class. So that’s what he did.
Last October, he drew stick figures of himself with a gun, pointed at four other stick figures with the words "teachers must die."
The boy drew the pictures to let out angry emotions. "Tim," his parents, and his therapist say it was not a threat and that Tim would never hurt anyone.
He felt calmer and was throwing the picture away when the teacher saw it and sent him to the principal's office.
The school was aware that the boy was in treatment, determined he was not a threat, notified his parents and sent him back to class. His mother, "Jane" was shocked when Arvada Police showed up at their home later that night.
She says she told her son to cooperate and tell the truth, but was horrified when they told her they were arresting him and then handcuffed him and hauled him away in a patrol car. His mother says she begged police to let her drive her son to the police department and to let her stay with him through the booking process but they refused.
They put him in a cell, took his mug shot and fingerprinted him. He says he thought he was going to jail and would never be able to go home again.
According to the police report, "Tim" explained he made the drawing to release anger and would never hurt teachers or anyone. At first school officials did not want to press charges, but changed their mind when police called them later that night. A juvenile assessment report shows he's never been in legal trouble before and is at low risk to reoffend.
He's charged with a third degree misdemeanor, interfering with staff and students at an educational facility. The system says it's doing what's in the best interest of the child. But Tim's therapist says handcuffing an 11-year-old and putting him in a cell over something like this is "quite an overreaction" and does much more harm than good.
"Tim" is on probation and if he completes that successfully, the criminal charges will be dropped. But his parents say it has cost them thousands of dollars so far.
And if they had known that their son’s cooperation would be used as evidence against him, they would have hired a lawyer at the beginning and exercised his right to remain silent.
The police acted stupidly
Alot of public schools are evil, but not all. I love my children’s public school. They are patriotic and spiritual. Every day the National Anthem is sung and the Pledge of Allegiance is recited. They pray before meetings and Luncheons. Last week I noticed the Gadsden Flag is proudly hung up in the hallway. Awesome school.
Was the administrator that called the police a female? Almost always is.
The police shouldn’t be involved at all in this. It was idiotic to call the police when the child’s behavior could have easily been referred over to a professional office (if needed) and the police and teacher should have been mature enough to understand the referral. To have police so ignorant as to handcuff an 11 year old and transport him to a cell is much, much worse than the stick figures.
Don't let the ACLU know about any of that stuff.
Seriously.
...and he was transported to a mental institution in Colorado Springs for 3 days!
One of the many things I've learned from FR.
“(Our foremothers carried guns too and knew how to use them)”
That makes me a foremother...LOL
The story says that the school's administration didn’t call the police since they were aware of the emotional problems. I doubt that either the child or the parents called the police. The story went on to say that the school administration changed their minds after the police showed up.
So.
Who called the police?
As it stands right now the only other party that knew of the drawing was the teacher. Or, did I miss something?
:)
See this"inappropriate expression"? Its NFS but even if it was I bet you couldnt afford it
What's sad is some of the liberal signs at protests over the last few years, Crawford Texas, Marches on Washington, Madison Wisconsin now, and this little boy locked up for stick figures. "teachers must die" is taken as a personal insult, but the child is no security risk daytime or nightime.
And when this “Kid” actually walks into class and actually shoots a teacher or students what are you going to yell? Why didn’t someone see this coming and do something about it?
______________________________________________
Good grief
Kids in my class when I was in school drew pics of guns tanks aircraft
None of them have ever shot a teacher in 50 years...
My son and his friends drew guns...
he never shot a teacher...
We playerd Hang Man is that outlawed too now ???
we played Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers still nobody murdered...
If we had no toy guns we made one from 2 of Mums clothes pegs...
No adult fainted when we went “BANG !!! Youre dead”
“Awesome school.”
DON’T tell us where you live!
The PC police will be there in a heartbeat to straighten things out =/
This confirms it common sense is dead.
Good analysis. I was wondering what circumstances caused the parents to hire a psychiatrist for their 11 year old. Maybe he has a history of violent behavior. It would be nice to know all the facts.
That is what anyone should do when arrested. Say NOTHING. Get counsel.
But an 11 year old? The cops in Arvada, CO must be really bored.
Were you told that what you did was wrong when you targeted a particular individual?
Cowboys and Indians was accepted because it was not reality - it was what you saw in the movies of those days and even today.
We used to do things like put mice and garden snakes in the teacher desk but nobody thought (to my knowledge) of drawing someone shooting the teacher.
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