Disturbing moment cop cuffs crying boy, 8, with ‘special needs’ and ‘takes him to adult jail’

A disturbing video has shown the moment police cuffed a crying boy with “special needs” before arresting him and taking him to jail.

Disturbing footage shows the moment a police officer handcuffed a crying eight-year-old boy and took him to jail in a police car after a 2018 incident at his elementary school.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump posted the footage on Monday and said authorities used “scared straight” tactics on the boy, who he said has special needs.

The video starts with an officer asking the boy, “Do you know where you are going? You are going to jail.”

Another officer, who is not seen in the video, instructed the sobbing boy to stand up straight and put his hands behind his back.

The officer then placed the boy against a filing cabinet and frisked him before taking out his metal handcuffs. As he cuffed the child, another officer not shown in the video, questioned whether the restraints would fit him.

The boy was led out of his school and while waiting to be put into the back of a squad car, the police lectured the boy.

“You understand this is very serious, OK?” the officer said, “And I hate that you put me in this position and that I have to do this.

“The thing about it is you made a mistake and it’s time to learn and grow from it. And don’t repeat the same mistake again.”

RELATED: Leaked bodycam video shows George Floyd brutally beaten before fatal arrest

Footage shows the US police officers arresting the crying 8-year-old. Picture: KWPD

The video ends with the cuffed boy walking alongside an officer to the police car.

It was not immediately clear if the video is a discovery in a civil case against the Key West Police Department, according to the Miami Herald.

The boy was arrested on a felony battery charge and was booked into Monroe County Detention Centre in Key West and charged him with battery. The status of the case was not immediately known.

In the tweet, lawyer Mr Crump rips the police for their tactics.

“Unbelievable! @KWPOLICE used “scared straight” tactics on 8yo boy with special needs,” Mr Crump wrote.

“They thought it was appropriate to handcuff and transport him to an adult prison for processing! He was so small the cuffs fell off his wrists!”

RELATED: Trump pulled from briefing after shots fired near White House

Unbelievable!! @KWPOLICE used “scared straight” tactics on 8yo boy with special needs. He's 3.5 ft tall and 64 lbs, but they thought it was appropriate to handcuff and transport him to an adult prison for processing!! He was so small the cuffs fell off his wrists! pic.twitter.com/iSTlXdKas6

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 10, 2020

‘You understand this is very serious, OK?’ the police told the sobbing boy. Picture: KWPD

An officer walks the cuffed boy to the police car. Picture: KWPD

RELATED: Minneapolis council votes to abolish city’s police department

Key West Police spokeswoman Alyson Crean told The Sun that the viral video showed an old incident that took place in December 2018 and “most of it was cut out”.

According to the arrest report obtained by The Sun, the boy’s teacher said the boy was not sitting properly in his seat. After she asked him to sit properly several times, he refused and later punched her with his right hand.

The report further states that the police were in the school’s administrative office when the teacher and the boy arrived.

The boy “had his hands clenched in fists and he was postures as if he was ready to fight,” according to the arrest report.

The arrest report continued: “Based on the facts of the case, there is probable cause to believe that (the boy) did violate FSS 784.081 (2c) by actually and intentionally striking (the teacher) against her will.”

On Monday, Key West Police Chief Sean T. Brandenburg said in a statement to The Sun that “based on the report, standard operating procedures were followed”.

The Monroe County School District also issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying it would not comment on the case because of the possible legal action, according to the Miami Herald.

This article originally appeared on The US Sun and was reproduced with permission