School district sued after officer handcuffed 7-year-old hearing-impaired child
Kalyb Primm Wiley was 7 years old and weighed 50 pounds when in 2014 he was handcuffed by a school police officer.
What’s worse, Kalyb was being bullied at the time because he is hearing-impaired, and when the officer, Brandon Craddock, saw the little boy crying, he ordered Kalyb to follow him to the principal’s office and pulled him along by the arm. When Kalyb grabbed a handrail with his free hand, Craddock twisted his arms behind him and handcuffed him.
Now, two years later, the Missouri Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the school district. The suit, filed on Thursday, says that Kalyb’s constitutional rights against unlawful seizure and excessive force were violated.
— Charleston cop to black children: ‘Don’t go to church and get hurt’ —
“Setting aside that he was 7-years-old and 50 pounds and no danger to anyone, it is illegal for the government to handcuff and restrain anyone without probable cause that a crime has been committed,” ACLU of Missouri Legal Director Tony Rothert told the Kansas City Star.
“This child committed no crime, threatened no one, and posed no danger to anyone,” Rothert said. “Gratuitously handcuffing children is cowardly and violates the Constitution.”
As for Kalyb, who is now 10, he has just returned to public school after being homeschooled for two years by his mother, because he was afraid to return to school.
