SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSTM) – An 11-year-old New York girl walking home from school was handcuffed by deputies after she was wrongly identified as a suspect in a stolen car investigation.
A group of kids walking home from school Monday in Syracuse was interrupted by Onondaga County Sheriff’s deputies. One girl started recording after two deputies put her 11-year-old cousin in handcuffs.
The deputies explained that the girl they detained matched the description for a young person who allegedly stole a Kia and fled a traffic stop, indicating the pink jacket and “camo” pants on the girl were the same those the alleged thief was described as wearing.
The children repeatedly told the deputies they had the wrong person, but the deputies insisted they were lying, showing them a photo of the suspect.
“Girl, you gonna tell me this ain’t you?” said one deputy to the handcuffed girl.
When other deputies arrived and the reality of the situation set in, the 11-year-old started crying.
Eventually, the deputies realized the girl they placed in handcuffs was not their suspect. One of them seemed to say the alleged car thief they were looking for had longer hair. They offered an apology while saying it was an easy mistake to make based on the description and photo they had available to them.
“I’m sorry about it, but you matched the description pretty clearly,” one deputy said.
Following the incident, the girl’s mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, was beside herself. She was waiting for her daughter to get home from school when she got a phone call regarding her detainment.
“She no longer wants to walk to and from school anymore. That was the only freedom she had, and it’s now gone,” the mother said. “I can’t make sense of it. I couldn’t even finish watching the video. 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.”
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office released its explanation for why the 11-year-old girl was detained, saying she was wearing the same clothing as the suspect and was in close proximity to the traffic stop the suspect was involved in.
The sheriff’s office says the girl was detained for seven minutes. After a review of the incident, her detainment was deemed “lawful and reasonable.”
Regarding the handcuffing, the sheriff’s office released the following statement:
“Why would we handcuff this child? Detainees are usually handcuffed initially. Detainees may become uncooperative, may decide to flee, or may decide to fight. In some cases, detainees may be armed or have contraband/evidence they will try to destroy. Handcuffing from the start usually prevents a controlled situation from devolving into an uncontrolled situation; ultimately preventing altercations, force, and potential for injury. The police do not definitively know a person’s age and ascertaining that information is part of the detainment process. Handcuffing juveniles in this circumstance is lawful, within policy, and common practice in law enforcement.”
The sheriff’s office said Sheriff Toby Shelley met with the mother of the 11-year-old and discussed her concerns with her, calling the conversation productive. Moving forward, it will be sheriff’s office policy to notify a parent or guardian if a juvenile is detained as part of a criminal investigation.
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