QUESTIONS AFTER OREGON POLICE HANDCUFF 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL

Her mom was very much like her daughter -- verbally abusive to the officers

By Aimee Green

The Oregonian
April 5, 2016

Portland police handcuffed and arrested a 12-year-old Beaumont Middle School student last Wednesday -- days after she allegedly yanked another student out of her chair by her hair and shoved a substitute teacher.

The girl was arrested in the school office. She responded by throwing herself on the floor and stomping her feet, then spitting all around her as she sat in the back of a patrol car, said police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.

"For lack of a better term, she chose to have a tantrum," Simpson said.

The girl's mother arrived at the school to talk to officers.

"Mom was very much like her daughter -- verbally abusive to the officers," Simpson said. "They discontinued the conversation" and drove the daughter to the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center in Northeast Portland.

The incident that spurred the arrest happened March 18, according to the girl who reported the attack. Twelve days later, on March 30, the 12-year-old victim told police that her attacker had dragged her across the classroom by her hair, Simpson said.

That led officers to go to the Northeast Portland school later that day and make the arrest -- under accusations of fourth-degree assault and harassment that will be heard in Multnomah County juvenile court.

As news of the arrest spread, some community members raised questions about the police action.

The ACLU of Oregon's legal director tweeted that he was interested in finding the girl's parent to talk to her.

Simpson told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Saturday that while most campus fights or assaults are handled by school administrators, police had to take action in this case because someone complained about a crime.

"I think it's important to point out that there's a victim of a crime here who called police for help, and officers took appropriate action," Simpson said. "Most fights do probably end up in the school office, but when a victim complains, it's not up to us to kick it back to the school and say 'You handle it.'"

In May 2013, two uniformed Portland police officers arrived at the home of a 9-year-old girl, handcuffed her, drove her to police headquarters in downtown over an assault on another child at a youth club six days earlier. The girl was fingerprinted and her mugshot was taken.

Community outrage over that arrest prompted Portland police to revise their policy. Now, Simpson said, officers won't arrest anyone younger than 12 without special permission. Simpson said it's his understanding that if a child is 11 or younger, police must consult the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and talk to a judge.

Across the country, police have arrested children as young as elementary school age. In 2012, police in Georgia made headlines for handcuffing a 6-year-old kindergartner who police said assaulted the school principal, bit a doorknob and jumped on a paper shredder.

Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Christine Miles said that she wasn't aware of the specifics of the Beaumont Middle School case and couldn't talk about them if she did because of student privacy rules. Miles said parents were sent general information informing them that police had been to the school to deal with a private matter between students and that school safety wasn't at risk.

Miles emphasized Saturday to The Oregonian/OregonLive that school officials didn't summon police to the school.

Miles said school officials do call in police when there is a serious injury or threat of violence, such as a gun brought to school. But she said school principals typically deal with student behavioral problems -- including minor assaults or fights -- in-house. The process can take hours or days.

"Now if parents decide, 'Hey I'm not happy with this. I think police should be involved,' then it's their right to involve police," Miles said.

Although Miles isn't speaking about the 12-year-old who was arrested, she said it's important to remember that students who act out in school often have a lot of turmoil in their family life. Miles has seen an increase in troubled students as Portland's rents have skyrocketed, and more students are finding themselves without a home.

"These are hard-working parents with jobs and who can't find a place to live," Miles said. "They are couch-surfing, and their kids are traumatized."

Simpson, the police spokesman, said school resource officers made the arrest, and that they "probably have a better understanding of students than any other officer in the bureau." He said the officers likely chose to arrest the girl at school because "school is a more controlled environment."

Police handcuffed the girl because it's standard procedure when taking any person -- child or adult -- into custody, said Sgt. Greg Stewart.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The subject of handcuffing young children has always been a touchy one.

The purpose of handcuffing all prisoners being transported in a police car is to prevent the prisoner from escaping and to protect both the transporting officer(s) and the prisoner from harm.

As for handcuffing children, it is better to err on the side of caution than for the officer(s) to get hurt.