Video Shows Florida Police Officers Handcuffing 8-Year-Old Boy

A video of cops arresting and handcuffing an 8-year-old boy in Florida is causing a stir online.

Although the incident took place on Dec. 14, 2018, the footage began circulating on social media on Monday, which resulted in an uproar from the public about the police officers' decision to handcuff the unnamed child.

TMZ reports that the authorities were called to Gerald Adams Elementary in Key West after the child in the video allegedly punched a teacher in the chest. The boy was then arrested on a felony battery charge.

According to the police report, the incident started over the student failing to sit properly on a cafeteria bench. After being reprimanded, the boy told the teacher that his mother would come to the school and attack her. The boy then punched the faculty member in the chest.

Tallahassee civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is one of many who has since shared the video online, claims the arrested child has special needs.

Despite the outrage over the arrest, Key West Police Chief Sean T. Brandenburg told the Miami Herald in a statement on Monday that his officers didn’t do anything wrong.

“Based on the report, standard operating procedures were followed,” he said.

In the video, an officer can be seen telling the crying boy to stand up so he can pat him down. The officer then attempts to handcuff the child, but the handcuffs are too big to fit on his wrists.

“You understand this is very serious, OK? I hate that you put me in this position and I have to do this. The thing about it is, you made a mistake. Now it’s time to learn from it and grow from it, right? Not repeat the same mistake again,” the officer tells the boy.

Off-camera, the officers then transported the boy to a juvenile justice facility in Key West where he was booked for felony battery. The outcome of the case is unknown.