Legal Commentary

12 Yr Old Arrested at School for Doodling Sues for $1 Million

By Jeralyn

12 year old Alexa Gonzales doodled on her desk with an erasable marker, was yanked from class, brought to the dean's office, searched, arrested, handcuffed behind her back (not in front, big difference), perp walked in front of her classmates, brought to the station and left handcuffed to a pole for two hours.

She and her mother filed a notice of intent to sue the city education department and the NYPD for $1 million in damages.

What did she doodle? ""I love my friends Abby and Faith." The city acknowledges it made a mistake. This is going to be an expensive lesson for them -- and rightfully so. It's also not the first lawsuit of its kind. [More...]

The family of Chelsea Fraser, then 13, sued the city too after she was arrested for writing "okay" on her desk at Brooklyn's Intermediate School 201. After then-5-year-old Dennis Rivera was handcuffed for throwing a fit in kindergarten, his family sued for $15 million in damages.

Their lawsuit is ongoing, as is a class-action lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in January on behalf of city middle- and high-school students.

Pay up, New York. As for the teacher and assistant principal who physically dragged her from class and called the cops, I hope they've been terminated for their poor judgment.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 03, 2010 (boomark / email).