Recently, there has been a spate of criticism of the NYPD after they dragged a seven-year-old out of his special-ed class in handcuffs. This wasn't the first time a child had been handcuffed by police, but if Assemblywoman Inez Barron has her way, it will be the last time.
Barron (D-Brooklyn) is planning on introducing legislation to ban handcuffing children under age 12 on school property. Barron said she was still looking for a sponsor for her bill in the Senate, but City Councilman Charles Barron will be introducing a supporting resolution. Previously, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said that what happened to seven-year-old Joseph Alexander was sad, but sometimes the situation called for such measures: "There are opportunities that present themselves where a student may be in danger to either him or herself or to other students," he said.
If the legislation is approved, then a five-year-old will no longer be cuffed for a temper tantrum,
nor a seven-year-old special education child, nor a nine-year-old asthmatic kid. However, the 13-year-old who doodled on her desk, and is obviously a danger to the entire NYC school system, would still be out of luck.
