havok579257 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 ARVADA, Colo. -- An 11-year-old Arvada boy was arrested and hauled away in handcuffs for drawing stick figures in school, something his therapist told him to do. His parents say they understand what he did was inappropriate, but are outraged by the way Arvada Police handled the case. The parents do not want their real names used. They say "Tim" is being treated for Attention Deficit Disorder and his therapist told him to draw pictures when he got upset, rather than disrupt the class. So that’s what he did. Last October, he drew stick figures of himself with a gun, pointed at four other stick figures with the words "teacher must die." He felt calmer and was throwing the picture away when the teacher saw it and sent him to the principal's office. The school was aware that the boy was in treatment, determined he was not a threat, notified his parents and sent him back to class. His mother, "Jane" was shocked when Arvada Police showed up at their home later that night. She says she told her son to cooperate and tell the truth, but was horrified when they told her they were arresting him and then handcuffed him and hauled him away in a patrol car. His mother says she begged police to let her drive her son to the police department and to let her stay with him through the booking process but they refused. They put him in a cell, took his mug shot and fingerprinted him. He says he thought he was going to jail and would never be able to go home again. According to the police report, "Tim" explained he made the drawing to release anger and would never hurt teachers or anyone. At first school officials did not want to press charges, but changed their mind when police called them later that night. A juvenile assessment report shows he's never been in legal trouble before and is at low risk to reoffend. He's charged with a third degree misdemeanor, interfering with staff and students at an educational facility. The system says it's doing what's in the best interest of the child. But Tim's therapist says handcuffing an 11-year-old and putting him in a cell over something like this is "quite an overreaction" and does much more harm than good. Arvada Police say because Monday was a holiday, they are not able to get hold of all the personnel and reports to make a response, but will be able to respond Tuesday. Tim is on probation and if he completes that successfully, the criminal charges will be dropped. But his parents say it has cost them thousands of dollars so far. And if they had known that their son’s cooperation would be used as evidence against him, they would have hired a lawyer at the beginning and exercised his right to remain silent. http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-arvada-police-arrest-11yearold-over-inappropriate-stick-figure-drawing-20110221,0,7099823.story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Normile Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Well at least they did not break out the batons and whup him. Though I must say I definetly feel much safer knowing that the police have this malcontent in their sights, err, under their scrutiny. ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sternhauser Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Ah, yes. Now he'll respect teachers. ~Sternhauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Sorta reminds me of the girl who got cuffed and hauled off from her school for doodling on her desk with washable marker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sternhauser Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Nihil Obstat' timestamp='1298428598' post='2214794'] Sorta reminds me of the girl who got cuffed and hauled off from her school for doodling on her desk with washable marker. [/quote] She broke . . . the LAW! Let that sort of thing slip through the cracks just once, and the next thing you know, we'll be cowering in our basements, listening, as hooting packs of half-dressed men loot, rape and pillage everything, silhouetted against the eerie orange glow of a burning cityscape. [img]http://anarchyinyourhead.com/comics/2008-04-04-iron_fist_hero.png[/img] ~Sternhauser Edited February 23, 2011 by Sternhauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Absolutely outrageous. And this - in the "Land of the Free" ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 OK so their reaction was a little melodramatic, but kids drawing these kind of things can often be a red-flag. Everyone likes to say "oh it's just a picture there's no intention behind it etc etc" but then when some kid snaps and brings a gun into school people say they woulda paid attention to the signs earlier. To lazy to find specific examples now, but I can if any of y'all have doubts. Again I'm not condoning the police and saying their actions were appropriate, but I do think precaution is necessary. With a little investigation they could have determined that it wasn't a serious threat, that it was what his therapist told him to do, and address it from there without bringing in the police cruisers and booking the kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 [quote name='Ice_nine' timestamp='1298524495' post='2215153'] OK so their reaction was a little melodramatic, but kids drawing these kind of things can often be a red-flag. Everyone likes to say "oh it's just a picture there's no intention behind it etc etc" but then when some kid snaps and brings a gun into school people say they woulda paid attention to the signs earlier. To lazy to find specific examples now, but I can if any of y'all have doubts. Again I'm not condoning the police and saying their actions were appropriate, but I do think precaution is necessary. With a little investigation they could have determined that it wasn't a serious threat, that it was what his therapist told him to do, and address it from there without bringing in the police cruisers and booking the kid. [/quote] I'm more or less inclined to agree, but it's important to note that the school actually did take this into account. "The school was aware that the boy was in treatment, determined he was not a threat, notified his parents and sent him back to class. His mother, "Jane" was shocked when Arvada Police showed up at their home later that night." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Therese Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I do agree with the need for caution and for the parents and the child to be required to seek help with police involvement, even. But an arrest, without parents even being given the option is pretty bad. The pressing of charges goes beyond bad - I think it is outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 so basically we all agree ain't that just swell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havok579257 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 [quote name='Ice_nine' timestamp='1298524495' post='2215153'] OK so their reaction was a little melodramatic, but kids drawing these kind of things can often be a red-flag. Everyone likes to say "oh it's just a picture there's no intention behind it etc etc" but then when some kid snaps and brings a gun into school people say they woulda paid attention to the signs earlier. To lazy to find specific examples now, but I can if any of y'all have doubts. Again I'm not condoning the police and saying their actions were appropriate, but I do think precaution is necessary. With a little investigation they could have determined that it wasn't a serious threat, that it was what his therapist told him to do, and address it from there without bringing in the police cruisers and booking the kid. [/quote] last i checked help does not include handcuffing someone in there house, trowing them into a cell and pressing charges on some. help involves getting someone to therapy but the school district was not interested in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinSoG Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Wow this is very pathetic. What is the world coming too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sternhauser Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) [quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1298554284' post='2215208'] last i checked help does not include handcuffing someone in there house, trowing them into a cell and pressing charges on some. help involves getting someone to therapy but the school district was not interested in that. [/quote] That's the only way they know how to help. Don't [i]judge[/i] them! ~Sternhauser Edited February 24, 2011 by Sternhauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaladinSoG Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 [quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1298554284' post='2215208'] last i checked help does not include handcuffing someone in there house, [color="#ff0000"][b]trowing[/b][/color] them into a cell and pressing charges on some. help involves getting someone to therapy but the school district was not interested in that. [/quote] Saw where you misspelled throwing and I thought for a second it read trolling. Kind of sounds like what these people are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth09 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Well, if the teacher saw this and thought that "Tim" was really going shot her. I think that the boy should be told this that he can not draw doing class, but in art class, any free time and home. Know that I am not a therapist, but does the teacher have any right to know what is going on or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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