A Florida woman is demanding answers after learning that her 11-year-old son was handcuffed and forced to sit in the back of a police car last month.
An MSN report notes that Apopka Police responded to a robbery call related to a stolen bicycle. Young Jamir Bradford was identified as the person who took the bike, but his family says that’s completely incorrect. They claim Bradford was riding his bike in his neighborhood on Feb. 20 when a person in a truck pulled up and accused the boy of stealing it.
According to MSN, when he arrived at a nearby park, police came and questioned him, then put the boy in handcuffs. He was ultimately released upon further examination of the bike.
Bradford’s mother, Melani Brown, said that her son has been traumatized by the incident.
“He was arrested, handcuffed and charged with robbery and battery for riding his own bicycle,” Brown lamented, per WESH 2. “He said ‘Mommy, when I seen the officer with his hand on his gun, I wanted to run.’ I said, ‘For what? You did nothing wrong.”
Brown said she believes charges are still pending against her son, but according to reports, no charges have been filed.
The incident is under administrative review by Apopka police.
Florida has a minimum arrest age, banning the arrest of anyone under the age of 7. The law was named after Kaia Rolle, a girl who was arrested at the age of 6 for reportedly kicking and punching several staff members at her school, Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy, in 2019.
The sponsor of the bill, Orlando Sen. Randolph Bracy, advocated for the law to cover children 12 and under, according to Florida Politics.
Rolle’s grandmother recalled the incident to WESH 2 in July 2021. “One of Kaia’s greatest fears,” said Meralyn Kirkland, “is that every time she saw a police officer they are coming to arrest her, one of her friends or one of her family members.”
“I thought the brunt of the trauma was the day it happened,” she added, “but I’m finding out day by day it is going to be a long road. Kaia still has night terror, she’ll be up at 3 o’clock in the morning, crying, scared.”
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