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A Flint officer removes the boy's cuffs.
The ACLU of Michigan is suing the Flint Police Department for handcuffing a 7-year-old boy at an after-school program nearly three years ago.
An account given Tuesday by the legal group says Cameron McCadden, an African-American boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was under four-feet tall and 55 pounds at the time of the October 2015 incident at an after-school program at Brownell STEM Academy in Flint.
While reportedly being disciplined for misbehaior, Flint officer Terrance Walker placed him in the wrist restraints.
When his mother, Chrystal McCadden, arrived and demanded he be released, she was told the officer didn't have a key. Cameron remained in handcuffs for "nearly an hour" before another officer brought the key, according to an ACLU statement.
“Putting handcuffs on a 7-year-old child and locking his hands behind his back is inhumane. It’s barbaric. It violates every rule of common sense,” says ACLU attorney Mark Fancher. “This reprehensible act also violates the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal Rehabilitation Act, and the laws and policies of the state of Michigan.”
At a press conference, McCadden said she was "horrified" to see her son restrained.
Flint police did not immediately respond to calls for comment on the suit.
Videos of the incident, taken by Chrystal McCadden, are below.
