Officer Under Investigation After Arresting Children, 6 and 8, Chief Says

A 6-year-old girl was arrested and handcuffed after having a tantrum at an Orlando, Fla., school, her grandmother said.

Meralyn Kirkland with her 6-year-old granddaughter, who was arrested by a school resource officer at a charter school in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday.CreditCreditWKMG-TV News 6

An Orlando, Fla., police officer is under investigation after he arrested two children, ages 6 and 8, in separate episodes at a school on Thursday, the police said.

The officer, Dennis Turner, has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Orlando Rolón, the police chief, said in a statement.

Officer Turner was working as a school resource officer at a charter school when he arrested the children, Chief Rolón said.

Officer Turner was assigned to the Reserve Officer Program. Details of the program were unavailable, but The Orlando Sentinel reported that it is made up of retired officers from the Orlando Police Department.

Departmental policy requires officers to get a supervisor’s approval when arresting anyone under age 12.

During the arrest of the 8-year-old, the transporting officer was unaware that Officer Turner had failed to get a supervisor’s approval, the chief said.

The child was processed through the Juvenile Assessment Center and released to a relative shortly after, Chief Rolón said.

The gender of the child and what led to the arrest were not disclosed. The police did not release the children’s names.

The officer who transported the 6-year-old to the center verified that Officer Turner had not received approval for the arrest and immediately halted the process. According to Chief Rolón, the child was returned to school before being processed.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/us/6-year-old-arrested-orlando-florida.html