The New York Sheriff’s Office has defended two deputies who detained and handcuffed an 11-year-old girl this week, saying she matched the description of the suspect. The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office responded to criticism after a video of the encounter was posted online, saying its officers’ actions were “reasonable,” but noting that children taken into custody for criminal investigation should not be taken into account by parents. or change the policy to notify parents, which was not done in this instance.
The sheriff’s office handcuffed an 11-year-old boy, whose identity has not been released, for seven minutes Monday afternoon in Syracuse, wearing clothing similar to the wanted person, according to a detention schedule released by the sheriff’s office. It is said that he was doing In connection with car theft. The girl was taken into custody several blocks away from where the stolen vehicle was first seen, the sheriff’s office said.
The wanted man, who is black like the girl, has not been identified or captured. The sheriff’s office said a deputy’s patrol car’s dashcam recorded her fleeing from the stolen car.
A woman who identified herself as the 11-year-old girl’s mother on Facebook and shared a video of the girl’s interaction with the deputies could not be reached for comment. Her Facebook post had been shared nearly 6,000 times and received more than 130 comments as of early Thursday afternoon, mostly because the sheriff’s office handcuffed the girl and took her into custody. He criticized her for not informing her parents.
In the video, the girl is seen standing with two deputies on a snow-covered sidewalk, her hands handcuffed behind her back. One of the deputies told the children who were with him that they could continue, but one of them replied that he had to stay with the girl because they were related.
“We can’t leave her alone,” one of the children says.
One of the children told deputies he came from school. A female aide tells the handcuffed girl, “Someone wearing exactly what you’re wearing stole our car,” to which one of the children responds, “We can’t drive.” answered.
A female councilor told her: Most kids can’t drive, but they still steal cars here. ”
The children told deputies they were playing in the snow on their way home from school.
Deputies told the children that the wanted person was wearing similar clothing to the 11-year-old girl: a pink jacket and camouflage pants.
“It’s exactly the same story,” the male aide said.
The female deputy tells the children that she is waiting for a photo of the person to be sent, and that if it is not the girl they captured, she will release her.
After receiving the photo, the deputy held up his cell phone and asked the detained child: “Miss, are you saying this isn’t you?”
The children gather around the deputy and look at the photos, pointing out differences between the girl and the wanted man, such as their complexion and the shoes they wear. At one point in the video, a girl can be heard crying.
The sheriff’s office said a deputy who viewed the dashcam footage directly used FaceTime to view the handcuffed child and determined that he was not the suspect. The sheriff’s office said in a statement that it noted differences between the girl and the wanted man, including the camouflage pattern on his pants, the texture of his pink jacket, the length of his hair and his complexion.
“This situation was quickly resolved due in large part to the boy’s temperament, patience and cooperation,” the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Tobias Shelley said he met with the girl’s mother to discuss her concerns and understood why she was upset that she was not informed that her daughter was in handcuffs. . The sheriff’s office announced that it would change its policy to “notify parents or guardians of juveniles detained for criminal investigation purposes, no matter how brief the contact.”
In a statement, the New York Civil Liberties Union said it was “extremely disturbed by the aggressive treatment of an 11-year-old black child by Syracuse sheriff’s deputies and by the sheriff’s failure to notify the child’s parents.” , condemned the actions of the delegates. parents. “
“This abuse raises serious concerns about implicit racial bias, which too often causes law enforcement officers to perceive children of color as a threat. “There are also questions about training and procedures,” the civil rights group said. “The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office must engage with the community and incorporate community input to make further changes.”
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that “detainees are typically handcuffed initially” because they may become uncooperative, run away or fight.
“Handcuffing the juvenile in these circumstances is legal, within policy, and common law enforcement practice,” the statement said.
The girl’s mother told Syracuse NBC affiliate WSTM that even after watching the video, she couldn’t understand what she saw.
“Even if it wasn’t my child, I wouldn’t have been able to finish watching the video because that’s not how you should treat a child,” she told the TV station.
