The family of a 7-year-old New York boy is suing police and the city for $250 million, saying cops handcuffed and interrogated the boy for ten hours after a scuffle over lunch money at school.
Wilson Reyes, a student at Public
School 114 in the Bronx reportedly got into a fight with a fellow
student in December after he was accused of taking $5 of lunch money
that had fallen on the ground in front of him. Responding to a complaint
of assault and robbery, the police were called and took the boy to the
local police precinct where officers allegedly handcuffed and
interrogated him for ten hours, according to the lawsuit.
“Imagine how I felt seeing my son in handcuffs,” Wilson’s mother, Frances Mendez, told the New York Post. “It was horrible. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said.
The claim, filed by family
attorney Jack Yankowitz, accuses the NYPD, among other things, of false
imprisonment, physical, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse, and
deprivation of Reyes’ constitutional rights.
Robbery charges against the boy were later dropped, and the NYPD,
though it disputes the accusations in the suit, is investigating the
incident.
“While the lawyer’s claims are
grossly untrue in many respects, including fabrication as to how long
the child was held, the matter is nonetheless being reviewed by the
department’s Internal Affairs Bureau,” Deputy Commissioner Paul J.
Browne told ABC News in an emailed statement.
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was critical of the NYPD in a statement posted on the New York City Public Advocate’s website.
“Seven-year-olds don’t belong in
handcuffs,” he said. “As a parent, I wouldn’t stand for this in one of
my kids’ schools. Our school system’s over-reliance on the NYPD as a
disciplinary tool traumatizes our young people, sows distrust in our
communities and drains vital city resources away from responding to
genuine crimes. This has to stop.”
Calls placed to Public School 114 were not immediately returned.
YNaija.com
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