Results tagged “handcuffs”

NYPD has announced that it will launch a pilot program to test out the use of velcro handcuffs to use on students in schools. Spokesman Paul Browne told the Daily News, "We would prefer never to use restraints of any kind, but in those rare instances where it may become necessary, we want a softer alternative to conventional handcuffs." A year ago, a family filed a $15 million lawsuit against the city after 5-year Dennis Rivera was (steel) handcuffed to a chair after allegedly attacking a teacher at PS 81 in Ridgewood, Queens. PS 81 is one of the 22 schools that will be included in the pilot program. Rivera's father said of the program, "They could be made of teddy bear material, but they still would be handcuffs. It is still police tactics on children who have committed no crime." The police say that the softer cuffs would only be used in rare cases where a student (age 15 or younger) needs to be restrained to protect himself or herself, or other children.

Imecca Burton, her mother, and civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel held a press conference in front of Police Headquarters yesterday to decry the handcuffing of 10-year-old Imecca, who was handcuffed by police in front of PS 25 where she attends elementary school. Police officers witnessed a fight on her school bus and in the ensuing events Imecca was handcuffed. Witnesses said that Imecca was swearing, kicking, and screaming, which is why the cops cuffed her. They were removed once she composed herself. The 10-year-old said she was afraid that she was going to jail and would never get out. "I never thought I'd see my brothers and sisters again," the New York Post reports. The Post labels Imecca Burton as "disabled" when describing her handcuffing and later elaborates that she has attention deficit disorder and dyslexia. Norman Siegel plans to sue the city on her behalf.

A mother is upset that last week her five-year-old son was allegedly handcuffed to a chair after throwing a temper tantrum in his Queens kindergarten class. The incident occurred last week at PS 81 and Jasmina Vasquez said her son Dennis Rivera was terrified. Rivera, who is quite large for a five-year-old at 68 pounds, reportedly was having a fit and knocking things off desks, when a school safety agent cuffed his hands behind him while seated in a chair.

The New York Times examines the practice of handcuffing prisoners who have been shot by the police, just a few days after the death of Khiel Coppin. The mentally disturbed Brooklyn 18-year-old was handcuffed by cops after they shot him ten times, thinking he was armed with a gun. It turns out, Coppin was armed only with a hairbrush. According to the Times, the practice of handcuffing someone who is already prone and wounded is...