Recently, there has been a spate of criticism of the NYPD after they dragged a seven-year-old out of his special-ed class in handcuffs. This wasn't the first time a child had been handcuffed by police, but if Assemblywoman Inez Barron has her way, it will be the last time. more ›

The NYPD has a zero-tolerance policy toward students, and hasn't hesitated to cart kids out of school in handcuffs for such offenses as doodling on their desks. But one Queens mother thinks the NYPD went too far when they dragged her 7-year-old son out of his special-ed class in handcuffs. The Daily News reports that Joseph Anderson, a first-grader at P.S. 153 in Maspeth, had been wetting himself throughout the morning on April 13th, and then became upset when he was dyeing Easter eggs and "the color on the egg he was painting didn't look the way he wanted." Yes, it's a sad story. more ›

The NYPD has had to throw out several chains used to restrain prisoners in transport after finding they were too easy to escape from. Designed by Peerless Handcuff Co. in Springfield, Mass, the shackles were used for about six months, and were equipped with a large link connecting the cuffs to the chain. According to a memo, this means "the prisoner could open the unused cuff and slip it through the oblong link to detach himself from the daisy chain." Too bad no one told Weezy. more ›

Police are continuing to investigate the death of Alejandro Bulaevsky, who was found dead wearing a latex suit with his hands cuffed behind his back in his apartment Monday night. The Times reports that Bulaevsky was also found wearing a gas mask, and a police spokeswoman said, “One aspect of the investigation would be to determine whether his death was related in any way to a fetish involving latex." Police are currently waiting for the results of a toxicology and tissue report to determine the cause of death. more ›

[UPDATE] A 26-year-old lighting designer was found dead in his Financial District apartment last night. Matirical employee Alejandro Bulaevsky was found handcuffed in a latex suit and latex mask on his kitchen floor, police officials told the Post. There were no signs of forced entry or trauma, and an autopsy is now being performed to determine the cause of death. According to WABC, the superintendent found Bulaevsky's body after he failed to report to work yesterday morning. Bulaevsky studied film at Tisch and Lighting Design at Parsons, and had worked on numerous projects in New York and Las Vegas. more ›

The pre-teen who was cuffed and detained after doodling on her desk this year wants the city to pay $1 million in damages for its overreaction. Queens junior high student Alex Gonzalez was hauled off in front of her classmates after writing "Lex was here 2/1/10'' and "I love my friends Abby and Faith'' on her desk in erasable maker. The family may have a case, since after the 12-year-old’s arrest a DOE spokesman admitted that “Based on what we've seen so far, this shouldn't have happened," and the NYPD’s Paul Browne said that “common sense” should have prevailed. more ›

The mother of Alexa Gonzalez, the Queens public school student arrested after being caught doodling on her desk, tells the Daily News that the principal is unapologetic about how the 12-year-old was treated. According to Moraima Camacho, Junior High School 190 principal Marilyn Grant said "that it wasn't their fault that it was something they had to do. She doesn't consider it doodling." more ›

A 24-year-old woman says she was handcuffed and thrown into a police holding cell when she tried to use a valid gift card at a NoHo Best Buy. Llona Klaver wanted to buy a DVD player with American Express gift cards she received from her father and brother, but she claims a cashier told her one wasn't valid because it didn't have raised numbers, while another was deemed unacceptable because it was connected to a different person's credit card. Then the cashier accused her of credit card fraud. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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... more ›