Ky. deputy sheriff sued for allegedly handcuffing disabled children

Ky. deputy sheriff sued for allegedly handcuffing disabled children
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By Marais Jacon-Duffy, WCPO. CREATED 7:00 AM

The Kenton County Sheriff’s Office in Covington, Kentucky, is the target of a federal lawsuit after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said a deputy sheriff from the department handcuffed two elementary school-age children to restrain them.

The lawsuit, S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriff’s Office, names deputy sheriff Kevin Sumner of Covington as the officer who handcuffed the 8-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl. Both children suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disabilaties, in addition to having histories of trauma. The children were being punished for behavior related to their disabilities, the ACLU said.

The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the Children’s Law Center and local law firm Dinsmore & Shohl and claims the sheriff’s office violated the Americans with Disabilities Act through Sumner’s actions.

The suit also names Kenton County Sheriff Chuck Korzenborn as a responsible party for “failure to adequately train and supervise Sumner, a school resource officer for several public elementary schools in Covington,” according to the ACLU.

The ACLU also obtained a video of Sumner restraining the 8-year-old boy, named “S.R.” in the lawsuit, as he cried. Watch the video in the media player above. Please note: captions on the video were added by the ACLU.

The mother of the boy in the video said that her son is having trouble sleeping, has anxiety and doesn’t want to go to school for a fear of seeing Sumner.

Representatives from the Children’s Law Center and the ACLU’s disability counsel said that, in Kentucky, school officials using restraints on children is illegal.

“These regulations include school resource officers,” said Kim Tandy, executive director of the Children’s Law Center. “There are not situations where law enforcement action was necessary.”

Covington Independent Schools issued a statement on Monday acknowledging the lawsuit against Sumner, who they confirm is a school resource officer within the district.

The press release said that the school district will not comment on the matter, given concerns for privacy of the children, but that the district has and will “fully cooperate with the children’s legal counsel, as well as the Sheriff’s Office, in looking into the complaints.”

The release did address the schools’ use of school resource officers, saying that they “are assigned in the schools to maintain the safety of students and staff and … act in accordance with their training as law enforcement officers” but that the officers “are not called upon by school district staff to punish or discipline a student who engages in a school-related offense.”

Source:  News Channel 5 Nashville

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