6 Y.O. Boy Hit Teacher & Cop With His Book - Charged With Felony

[matcom]

<snip>

A 6-year-old boy was in juvenile court Thursday, one day after he was charged with hitting his teacher and a police officer with books.

The 60-pound first-grader was booked on felony battery charges after his arrest at Endeavour Elementary School.

The Rockledge boy later told officers he was upset because "someone's grandmother died," said Barbara Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Cocoa Police Department.

"He's a tiny, little kid, so when the two officers first went, they tried to give him benefit of the doubt," Matthews said. "But he was also out of control. Once he struck the teacher, it became a battery."

One of the police officers also tried to talk with the child but ended up getting struck in the forehead with a book thrown from eight feet away.

The officer clasped handcuffs on the child after the teacher asked that he be prosecuted, Matthews said.

His mother also was called before the arrest. The boy had a violent episode with another teacher nearly three months ago. He was turned over to juvenile detention authorities but later was allowed to go home.

The child is suspended for 10 days from Endeavour while prosecutors talk to his mother and school officials about the charges. His mother could not be reached for comment.

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryMAIN0128ARREST1.htm

[Briarius]

1. Honest to god

how long until we see an outburst like this draw the death penalty?

Stop the planet, I want off

[matcom]

2. i got shotgun!

x(

[Fleshdancer]

3. WTF????

I didn't even know handcuffs could fit a six year old. :(

So we can arrest elementary children but high schoolers aren't mature enough to be taught sex ed? Am I getting that right?

[coloradodem2005]

4. What do you people think if this?

I don't know what to think. He should be punished and maybe even expelled, but as much as I find what the kid dd disturbing, I find the response disturbing too.

[matcom]

5. he is SIX

i think this is fucking BULLSHIT

[HereSince1628]

6. Police are cheaper than school psychologists

I hope he gets a good public defender.

[ladjf]

7. The police and faculty have become involved in what is

essentially a mental health problem. The child should have had counseling prior to this incident.

[LoZoccolo]

8. I don't know, but it might be the only circumstance under which...

...he could get some help. They're not going to send him to jail.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LoZoccolo]

12. You should not accuse me of being a Nazi.

First of all it's a personal attack, second of all as an argument it sucks ass.

[havocmom]

11. Yes, prior instance of violence is indication there is a real problem

and this might be the only way to get parent to address the issue. Also might be the only way to get medical/mental health care for the kid.

Our society does not seem to place much value on care and parenting. We rely on TV to occupy their minds (and keep them out of our hair) and microwaveable foods they can nuke themselves to feed them. Our kids will have more problems because of it.

For some eye opening experiences, go to a local school, talk to the administrator and tell them you want to just observe classes. Do this several times. You all might be flabbergasted at how poorly prepared a lot of kids are to participate in the social setting of school. It is amazing how many kids simply do not know how to behave or respect others.

Then there are the kids who really are violent. They are real and they need to be taken seriously. They need help. If a six year old already has a history of attacking other people, seems likely he is pretty upset about something in his own life. Do we let the attacks continue and just hope the violence does not escalate or do we intervene? How do we help the child and protect the other kids too?

It is just not a good idea to ignore or treat lightly this sort of behavior when it occurs more than once. Kids have a tendency of ratcheting up their behavior until they finally get a response.

News story from yesterday: 16 year old girl charged in death of another
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=2864202&nav=3w6oVfAT

Yeah, it is stupid to arrest kids for showing up at school with tiny toy guns, but when a kid has a history of violent attacks, it might be a good idea to look into why. Sometimes that means the kid has to be put into the system.

Our job is to keep an eye on what happens to these children and make sure the system helps them, not just warehouse them.

[KurtNYC]

10. Mental health issues are addressed in this country mostly

by the police (when things reach a breaking point) or demented clergy members. How sad.