Memphis 7-year-old illegally handcuffed, pushed into school bookcase, lawsuit claims
A Memphis mother is now suing Memphis-Shelby County Schools and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office after her 7-year-old son was transferred home in handcuffs. (Courtesy Sasha P from Pexels)
Last November, Cetera Jones watched her 7-year-old son arrive home in a squad car, his wrists handcuffed behind his back.
Jones is now suing Memphis-Shelby County Schools and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, claiming that Tennessee law doesn’t allow staff to handcuff students with disabilities, like her son.
Jones’ lawsuit wants MSCS and SCSO to follow state and federal disability laws. That includes deescalating rather than restraining students with disabilities, tracking instances where staff say restraint is necessary, and implementing training.
At her house, school staff told Jones they handcuffed her son for their own safety, Jones recalled.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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