A deputy sheriff in Covington, Ken., is being sued by the ACLU for handcuffing two elementary school students with disabilities as a means of punishment.
Both Kenton County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Sumner and his boss, Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn are named in the lawsuit, which alleges Sumner used unnecessary force to restrain an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. The particular incident involving the boy was caught on video.
Both children suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD. In addition, the boy has a history of trauma, which the suit suggests was worsened by the use of handcuffs:
Both children were being punished for behavior related to their disabilities. Neither was arrested nor charged with any criminal conduct. The lawsuit was filed on their behalf.
According to the press release, the lawsuit connects the incidents to a much larger problem with public schools’ use of force to detain students with disabilities in the United States:
Nationally, students with disabilities make up 12 percent of students in public schools, but are 75 percent of the students who are physically restrained by adults in their schools, according to the U.S.Department of Education. These disciplinary practices also feed into the “school-to-prison pipeline,” where children are funneled out of publicschools and into the criminal justice system. Many of these children have disabilities, yet instead of receiving necessary educational and counseling services, they are often punished and pushed out.
View the clip below, courtesy of the ACLU:
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