Georgia Kindergartner Salecia Johnson, 6, Handcuffed For Throwing Tantrum
A Georgia family is outraged after their 6-year-old kindergarten daughter was handcuffed by police for allegedly throwing a tantrum.
Little Salecia Johnson tore items off her a school wall, threw furniture and knocked over a shelf that injured the school principal, according to a report filed by the Milledgeville, Ga. Police Department, WMAZ-TV in Macon, Ga., reported.
Her school, Creekside Elementary, called Milledgeville police, who tried to calm the crying child and was handcuffed when she resisted, WMAZ-TV said.
Salecia was taken in the back of a patrol car and charged with simple battery and damage to property, the station reported.
Salecia's father, Earnest Johnson, was livid over the incident.
A 6-year-old in kindergarten. They don't have no business calling the police and handcuffing my child, he said.
Meanwhile, Dray Swicord, chief of the Milledgeville Police, defended his officer's handling of the situation.
Our policy is that any detainee transported to our station in a patrol vehicle is to be handcuffed in the back, he said in an interview aired on WMAZ-TV. There is no age discrimination on that rule.
Salecia was suspended over the incident, said her mother, Constance Ruff.
Ruff said her daughter has mood swings and I guess that was just one of her bad days.
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