SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSTM) – An 11-year-old was placed in handcuffs by deputies in New York who were on the lookout for alleged car thieves.
The girl’s mother and others are now condemning the actions taken by the officers.
On Monday, a group of children were coming home from Brighton Academy Middle School when they encountered the deputies.
Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley said the deputies had received a description of a girl who allegedly ran from a stolen car just half an hour before.
The suspect’s photo, which was captured by a deputy’s dash cam, shows a similarity to the girl they eventually took into custody.
On video, the girls insist the deputies have the wrong person. The deputies only realize their mistake after the 11-year-old had been handcuffed for about seven minutes.
The deputies then apologized.
Shelley said they did everything correctly.
“They handcuff her, which is a normal procedure especially based on the number of juveniles we have dealt with that have weapons,” he said.
Shelley said using handcuffs immediately is the mindset officers have when dealing with what he calls “rampant juvenile crime.”
Video of the incident taken by the 11-year-old’s cousin shows that the kids remained confused but calm.
Shelley said he himself would hide in plain sight if he were on the run, despite none of the children looking suspicious.
He said they often see 13-year-olds stealing weapons and committing assault.
The New York Civil Liberties Union condemned the actions of the deputies, joining other community leaders who are frustrated at how the girl was treated.
The Syracuse National Action Network president said the detainment went too far.
“There’s so many layers that are involved in this that could have been addressed so that she did not have to experience this undue traumatic encounter,” Bishop H. Bernard Alex said.
The mother of the 11-year-old said she could not comprehend what she saw when she watched the video of her daughter being handcuffed.
“Even if it wasn’t my child I wouldn’t be able to finish watching the video because that’s not how you handle children,” she said.
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