I’ve visited the subject of overly eager school security before, and this time it is highlighted by the actions of a couple of Brooklyn cops who decided I’Mecca Pearson was taking too long to get in her her seat on the bus.
Two years ago, Pearson was acting like many 10-year-olds do — excited to be going home to relax after a long day of school. Soon after she stepped onto the bus, two “unidentified” Brooklyn police officers boarded and told the fifth grader to take her seat. Deciding that she was not moving quick enough, one of the officers handcuffed Pearson and told her if she “didn’t sit up straight he wasn’t going to take them off,” according to an article in the NY Daily News.
Since the incident, a lawsuit sprang up, which resulted in a $50,000 settlement for Pearson. The NYPD has also launched a pilot program to equip school safety officers with Velcro restraints instead of handcuffs for unruly students. And let’s not forget when 12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez was handcuffed in class for doodling on her desk.
Nevermind the national push by Education Secretary Arne Duncan that schools develop better policies for restrainment and seclusion. Let’s take a moment and think about all the little juvenile infractions we have all committed in the past. The playground fights, the throwing things in class and the loud screams heard from more than one school bus on the road. Yes, all of these things are distracting and can cause complications, but they are also part of life. I have four children and there isn’t a day that goes by without some arguement or other form of normal childhood behavior occurring.
