To hear the mother tell it, her six-year-old daughter was treated like a “criminal,” a “dog,” or a “monster” when Peel Regional Police handcuffed her wrists and ankles after an alleged violent outburst last fall.
But to hear police tell it last week after the mother went public with her story, they were only protecting the child because she was kicking, punching, biting and banging her head.
Their first priority, after de-escalation techniques did not work, was her safety, said police spokesman Sgt. Josh Colley.
The two versions could hardly be more different, but one thing is clear: A six-year-old child should never end up in handcuffs. Education Minister Mitzie Hunter must ensure it never happens again.
There is no lack of blame going around. The mother has launched a complaint against Peel police. And the African Canadian Legal Clinic says it intends to file a human rights complaint against police and the school for anti-black racism.
Those investigations should help get at the cause of this incident, but what about prevention? It’s easy enough to blame teachers and school staff in a situation like this. After all, they are the first responders when a child is acting out. But, in fact, they may be doing all they can to protect children with the resources they have.
Indeed, although the Peel District School Board won’t discuss this individual case because of privacy reasons, it has a detailed 28-page plan in place to prevent and deal with violent outbursts in schools that is mandatory reading for all staff. It includes calling teachers trained in de-escalation techniques and “positive intervention” into the room when an incident takes place, and only calling 911 as a last resort.
Among the steps included in its plan is drawing up individualized education plans for students who exhibit aggressive behaviour, secondary “safety plans” for those who continue to act out, and, in most cases, assigning a teaching assistant to work directly with them.
In fact, the incident may underline the need for more funding for special education and children’s mental health. According to Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the issue of aggressive, destructive student behavior is No. 1 on the table when union representatives from across the province meet. “Many of these students are suffering and we need to step up to help them,” he said last month.
According to Hammond, a lack of funding means that too many children as young as 4 or 5 are stuck on wait lists for the early interventions they need. Indeed, the girl at the centre of the dispute at the Peel board had been suspended for violence four times in the past two years.
In response to Hammond’s concerns, Hunter says the government is developing a new strategy to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. It should be put in place quickly enough to ensure that no other child ever has to be handcuffed again.
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