Sheriff’s Deputies Handcuff Girl, 11, After Mistaking Her for Suspect
The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in New York said on Tuesday that it would change its policy regarding detained children after a video shared widely online showed deputies handcuffing an 11-year-old girl the day before.
The girl was detained by deputies in Syracuse, N.Y., who were looking for a similarly dressed person who was wanted in connection with the theft of a car less than an hour before, the sheriff’s office said.
The 11-year-old girl, who has not been publicly identified, was found six blocks from the scene of the theft, according to the authorities. The girl was handcuffed for seven minutes, according to a timeline of the episode released by the sheriff’s office, and was then released when the deputies realized she was not the person they were looking for.
Like the 11-year-old, the suspect is Black, according to the authorities. The suspect has not been caught or identified.
The video of the handcuffing drew fierce criticism, especially after the sheriff’s office said it had not notified the child’s parents that she had been detained.
In the video, the girl stands with her hands cuffed behind her back next to two deputies on a snowy sidewalk. Later, she can be seen sobbing in confusion and fear. The girl is wearing a very similar outfit to the one worn by the suspect in the car theft, according to a photo of the suspect released by the sheriff’s office: a puffy pink winter jacket, dark patterned pants, white shoes and a pink bag.
The office said the girl was released after the deputies documented differences between her and the suspect, including the pattern of their pants, subtle differences in their pink jackets, the length of their hair and differences in their complexion.
“This situation was cleared up quickly, largely due to the juvenile’s disposition, patience and cooperation,” the sheriff’s office said.
Tobias Shelley, the sheriff of Onondaga County, said he had met with the girl’s mother on Tuesday and that he understood why she was upset that she had not been told about the handcuffing.
In a statement, his office said that its new policy would be to “notify a parent or guardian of any juvenile who is detained for criminal investigative purposes, no matter how brief the encounter is.” Previously, the office would notify a parent or guardian only after an arrest, the statement said.
Thomas Newton, the director of community relations for the sheriff’s office, said that the new policy would be “formalized in a week or two.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the New York Civil Liberties Union said that it was “extremely disturbed by the aggressive treatment of an 11-year-old Black child at the hands of Syracuse sheriff’s deputies.”
“This mistreatment raises serious concerns about implicit racial bias, which too often leads law enforcement officers to perceive children of color as a threat,” the statement said. “It also raises questions about appropriate training and protocols in the sheriff’s office.”
The office said the detention of the girl and her quick release were examples of proper protocol.
People who are suspected of crimes are “usually handcuffed initially” because they “may become uncooperative, may decide to flee or may decide to fight,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Handcuffing from the start usually prevents a controlled situation from devolving into an uncontrolled situation,” the office said, “ultimately preventing altercations, force and potential for injury.”
