Cops Handcuff 11-Year-Old With Learning Disabilities and March Him Out of The School — Cops Blasted By Court

By WILLIAM DOTINGA
Largely reinstating a verdict against Sonora police officers who removed a hyperactive 11-year-old from school in handcuffs, the 9th Circuit agreed Wednesday that the use of restraints amounted to excessive force.

The incident in question occurred one September 2008 afternoon at Sonora Elementary School. C.B., as he is named in the ruling, forgot to take medication for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was experiencing a "rough day." The child's gym teacher - who had been dealing with him since kindergarten - attempted to coax C.B. into her office where he could "cool down" and refocus, a strategy that had helped make C.B. more compliant in the past.

With C.B. refusing this time to leave the playground, however, the teacher called the cops.
Sonora Police Chief Mace McIntosh and Officer Hal Prock were equally unsuccessful in engaging C.B.

Claiming to be simultaneously concerned for C.B.'s safety - the gym teacher had referred to him as a "runner" and a possible suicide risk - the officers placed the boy in handcuffs and put him into the back of a patrol car.

All parties agreed that C.B. had not struggled with officers and had complied with their requests. In fact, C.B. said very little during his encounter with McIntosh and Prock. Nonetheless, the officers transported the handcuffed 11-year-old for some 30 minutes to his uncle's business without ever formally arresting the boy or even telling him where they were going.

C.B. sued the city of Sonora, McIntosh and Prock for false imprisonment, emotional distress, excessive force and unlawful seizure.

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