A mother is upset that last week her five-year-old son was allegedly handcuffed to a chair after throwing a temper tantrum in his Queens kindergarten class. The incident occurred last week at PS 81 and Jasmina Vasquez said her son Dennis Rivera was terrified. Rivera, who is quite large for a five-year-old at 68 pounds, reportedly was having a fit and knocking things off desks, when a school safety agent cuffed his hands behind him while seated in a chair.
A guidance counselor called Vasquez, who works in Manhattan, to tell her what was happening and the mother sent Rivera's babysitter over to PS 81. The babysitter said that the school safety agents would not release Rivera to her custody, but instead transported him to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. He was evaluated and then released to his mother. Rivera is currently attending a private school.
Parents seemed appalled at the prospect of handcuffing a child to a chair and Vasquez said her son has been having nightmares since the incident. Legal actions against the school are being planned of course. According to WCBS TV, the police report related to the incident, however, says that the nearly-70 lb five-year-old was "punching his teacher and swinging wildly at school aides, that he smacked the assistant principal in the face, ran into a corner, and began to throw things on the floor."
An incident in October 2007, in which a principal was arrested for coming to the aid of a student being arrested for not complying with school safety agents, raised question about their role in schools. School safety agents are under the jurisdiction of the police, and critics claim that simple disciplinary matters are elevated to criminal matters by their presence and actions.
