A mother said she would file a lawsuit against the Westerville City School District and the Westerville Police Division after her two children were handcuffed and detained following a fight on a school bus.
On Oct. 19, Westerville Police said Tonya Mitchell’s children Mikeal, 8, and Michelle, 7, became physically aggressive with their bus driver, 10TV’s Jessa Goddard reported.
The two children were also accused of shouting expletives at their principal and police.
Byron L. Potts, the family’s attorney, said that police put the children in handcuffs and kept them in a holding cell until their mother arrived.
The children were charged with disorderly conduct, but the Franklin County Juvenile Court dismissed the charges because of the children’s young age, Goddard reported.
School administrators said that there was no other option but to transport the children to juvenile holding cells.
Potts said the incident traumatized the children.
“They're scared of the police,” Potts said. “He's already had nightmares about police coming after him and shooting him.”
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