ACLU Sues Tiverton, Says 3rd Grader Arrested Without Cause
Friday, December 04, 2015
The ACLU of RI has filed a federal lawsuit against Tiverton police and school officials over an incident that saw an 8 year old girl removed from a school bus, had her belongings searched and was taken alone to the police station without her parents knowledge, then questioned at the station for several hours before being released.
Read A Copy of the Lawsuit Here
The lawsuit argues that the school and police officials unlawfully and unnecessarily searched and detained the child, violating her constitutional rights to due process and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. The suit is being filed on behalf of the child and her parents.
“It is unfortunate that we have been reduced to arresting without cause third grade children in the name of public safety. We must not forget that when officials fail to exercise common sense discretion, overreactions like this can significantly harm affected children," said ACLU attorney Amato DeLuca.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Incident
On October 24, 2014, a student falsely told a school bus attendant that the girl and another student had "chemicals" in their backpacks. The bus was stopped and Tiverton Police officers and school officials were called to the scene.
The officers removed the two 8-year old girls from the school bus and found no evidence of chemicals in their bags upon searching them. The police then took the girls to the police station before contacting their parents and without any school officials present.
Once parents arrived, the girl was questioned and accused of not telling the truth before being released.
That night, the school robocalled all elementary school parents, wrongly informing them that two students claimed to have chemicals and made threats to set a school bus on fire.
No further action was taken against the accused students while the girl who made the accusations was disciplined.
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit makes claims against the Town for providing “no training or grossly inadequate training to its police officers and school department employees regarding their duties, responsibilities and conduct toward minor school children and their parents; use of force; preventing abuse of authority, communicating with parents of students in their care, custody and control; apprehension of school children and their arrest or detention.”
“Whether it is a Texas high school student getting arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school or a Tiverton third-grader being arrested and interrogated by police on the basis of completely unsubstantiated accusations, the rush to violate students’ rights in the name of ‘safety’ has to stop. We recognize that school officials should be vigilant in protecting children. However, turning eight-year-olds into police suspects in the absence of any evidence whatsoever is traumatizing and undermines, rather than furthers, the educational mission of a school. We hope this lawsuit will make police and school officials think twice before terrorizing young children in this fashion," said ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown.
The suit seeks a court order finding the actions and policies of town officials throughout the incident were illegal, as well as damages for mental anguish and emotional distress, punitive damages and attorneys fees.
Related Articles
- ACLU Questions Kennedy Plaza Security System
- NEW: RI ACLU Announces Racial Disparities Increasing During Motor Vehicle Stops
- Racial Disparities Report by RI ACLU Called “Extraordinary” by Community Leaders
- ACLU Report: RI Elementary Schools Promote Gender Stereotypes
- ACLU Blasts Motel 6 Agreement To Share Guest List With Warwick PD
- NEW: ACLU Sues Providence Police for Violation at Raimondo Fundraiser
- NEW: ACLU Files Suit Over Medical Marijuana Discrimination
- NEW: ACLU, Advocacy Groups Battle RIDE Over RI NECAP Scores
- RI ACLU Finds Suspension Discrepancy for Black vs. White Students
- TONIGHT: Fund for Community Progress Honors GoLocalProv + ACLU
- NEW: ACLU Calls for Investigation of Cranston Police Dept. Practices
- NEW: RI ACLU Questions “Superficial” Motel 6 Guest List Change
- New ACLU Report: Racial Disparities In RI School Suspensions Highest in Decade
- NEW: RI ACLU “Deeply Troubled” by Pawtucket Protests and Arrests
- NEW: RI ACLU Defends Sex Offenders Against Law Forcing Them to Move
- ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Residency Restriction of Sex Offenders
- NEW: Harmony Fire District Charged With Sex Discrimination by RI ACLU
- NEW: ACLU Reports RI Public Schools Handed Out 12,682 Suspensions Last Year
- Homeland Security Test at T.F. Green Opposed by RI ACLU
- RI ACLU Asks Cranston City Council to Further Investigate Police Practices
- ACLU of RI Files Lawsuit That Challenges 106-Year-Old Statute
- ACLU of RI Supports Supreme Court Decision On Hotels Giving Police Guest Lists
- NEW: Providence Sued by ACLU Over Musician’s Ability to Play in Public
- RI ACLU Asks Fung for Full Report on Cranston Police Dept. Investigation
- ACLU Claims U.S. is Illegally Detaining U.S. Citizens
