Community | February 11, 2011 | 13 comments

Cop Arrested and handcuff mentally challenged student who pinched teacher

Image
bundlebear
A West Georgia Sheriff is defending his deputy’s decision to arrest, handcuff and jail a mentally challenged student who acted up in the classroom.
Tessie Collins, 17, was booked into the Haralson County Jail on Tuesday on charges of simple battery and obstruction of a law enforcement after a school resource officer witnessed her pinch a student and a teacher at Haralson County High School.
“The officer had to do something,” Sheriff Eddie Mixon told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik. “In my opinion, it was handled with kid gloves. You got to stop it. That’s our job, it’s to stop the violence.”
Mixon said Collins was released from jail on her own recognizance several hours after her arrest.
“I’m furious,” said Tessie’s mother, Ann Collins.
Collins told Petchenik that her daughter has developmental delays that give her the mental capacity of an 8-year-old child. She said the school system is well aware of her daughter’s tendency to pinch people when they “invade her space.”
“She should be secluded by herself or a parent is called to come pick her up,” she said. “It’s just a misunderstanding. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and that should have been taken into consideration.”
Haralson County School Superintendent Brett Stanton wouldn’t discuss the particulars of the incident but told Petchenik he would be investigating what happened.
“I feel I have a responsibility to look into that concern and make sure that, from my standpoint, it’s been reviewed and examined,” said Stanton.
Stanton said there were 150 special education students at the high school. He said the district has procedures in place to deal with each one’s behavior. But, he said, if a student broke the law, it would be up to the school resource officer to handle the situation.
“Just because the student falls into that category of being special education or a student with disabilities, doesn’t mean they are given carte-blanche to break school rules or anything like that,” he said.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/26808869/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Health,   US Politics,   10 more
  2. tags:
    School,  Students,  Jail,  Mental Health,  2 more
  3.     
    |

13 comments // Cop Arrested and handcuff mentally challenged student who pinched teacher

more from Community:
from the community

top videos