Exclusive: Peel police to review case of girl, 6, handcuffed in school

By News Staff

Peel police are going to conduct a review of the case involving a six-year-old girl who was handcuffed in school.

Chief Jennifer Evans made the announcement during Friday’s televised meeting of the Peel Police Services Board.

Evans said she has already met with Tony Pontes, the education director of the Peel District School Board about the issue.

Last September, police were called to a Mississauga school to deal with what a police spokesperson said was a “a young girl who was acting extremely violent.”

After attempting several times to de-escalate the situation, the decision was made by officers to handcuff the six-year-old, first at the ankles and then the wrists.

Police told CityNews they handcuffed the child because they feared for her safety.

“We can never let this happen again,” said Loris Thomas of the Congress of Black Women of Canada, one of several people who appeared before the board to speak on this issue.

“Just maybe we can all understand the terror to this little girl and the long term effect it will have on her …and the black community as a whole.”

Mississauga councillor Sue McFadden believes the onus should be on the school board to have proper policies in place.

“I don’t think that the school should have called the police,” said McFadden.

“These children, whether they’re autistic or have other disabilities, are integrated into our school system. And they know that these children, sometimes, have difficulties and they should have policies in place to handle that.”

A human rights complaint has been filed on behalf of the little girl.

“The police have to be held accountable for their behaviour,” the child’s mother said earlier this month. “One of the teachers said to me ‘they’re the police. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t intervene.’”

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