What to Know
- 7-year-old child was placed in handcuffs after allegedly attacking his teacher.
- The child's father isn't defending the child's actions, but believes the handcuffs were a bit much.
- Police say they were just following protocol.
A 7-year-old Miami boy was placed in handcuffs Friday afternoon after he allegedly attacked a teacher at Coral Way Elementary. His family is protesting how police handled the incident.
“We are still suffering. This is insane," the child's father Rolando Fuentes said. "This is something that really affects our family, our friends.”
According to a report obtained by NBC 6, the 7-year-old was upset at a teacher who told him to stop playing with his food. The child attacked her by repeatedly punching her on her back. The report goes on to say that, once the teacher restrained the child from attacking her, the child continued to fight with his fists and legs, falling to the ground and then grabbing her hair.
“I know my kid did wrong, and he will be punished for what he did,” Fuentes said. “But what the police officer did afterward, this is out of hand. Unbelievable.”
“They said they would 'Baker Act' or arrest my boy. And I asked why does my kid have to be under arrest?” said the boy’s father.
"Baker Act" means to involuntarily commit for a mental health exam. The report says the father agreed that the student needed to go. Officials say when they put the child in handcuffs, they were following protocol.
Local
The child's mother, Mercy Álvarez, told NBC's sister station Telemundo 51 that the arrest was "very unjust" and she was planning to defend her son however possible.
She said that police were also called over the child's behavior in November.
Her husband was told this time that their son had to be taken because he was a "danger to society - when he was only sitting calmly in a chair," she said.
“There’s something wrong in this case,” Fuentes said.
The teacher is planning to press charges, The Associated Press reported.
--Maria-Juliana Rojas contributed to this story.
