Special Needs Boy Handcuffed At School ‘For His Own Protection’

A special needs boy was handcuffed in Georgia after he ran away from the Pine Ridge Elementary School. Lakaisha Reid, the mother of the 6-year-old boy handcuffed, said the restraints were entirely unnecessary.

Patrick Reid was engaging in destructive behavior, such as kicking and biting school officials, and was a danger to himself and others, according to Pine Ridge Elementary School administrators. Lakaisha Reid said that a 6-year-old should only be handcuffed “after robbing a bank,” and not for running away from school, noting that Patrick is a “special needs kid.”

The Georgia mom also alleged that Patrick Reid sustained “painful bruises” on his wrists after a Pine Ridge Elementary School resource officer handcuffed him during the incident. The school is standing behind the decision to handcuff the special needs child, stating that the controversial course of action was initiated because the 6-year-old boy was both destructive and disruptive.

“Patrick was acting in a disruptive manner and being self-destructive during school today. He ran out of school onto a busy, public street and was pursued by three school staff members,” a statement from Pine Ridge Elementary School reads. “The student was secured and returned to the school. For approximately one hour, the student was scratching, kicking, and hitting school personnel and continued to exhibit violent behavior, running into walls, banging his head on tables, and placing his health at risk,” the school district release to local WXIA News also stated.

During an interview with KTLA News, Lakaisha Reid said, “He [Patrick Reid] just ran away from school. It does not require handcuffs for hits. He’s a special needs kid. They need to have police officer that are trained for special need kids or for any kids that are his age. That’s pretty young for handcuffs already, you understand? Anything can happened with those handcuffs on him.”

The Georgia mom also said that her son was “screaming and yelling” when she and her husband arrived at Pine Ridge Elementary School after being notified about the incident.

“We go into the school, a gentleman takes us back, I hear my son yelling,” Lakaisha Reid said.

When Patrick Reid was asked about being handcuffed at school during the news media interview, he pointed to his wrists and said, “It hurts when I touch it right there.” Metal handcuffs were reportedly used on the 6-year-old special needs boy.

What do you think about the special needs boy being handcuffed? Did the school officials make the right call in order to protect the 6-year-old boy and others?

[Image via: WXIA/CNN]