This past Tuesday, police in Alton, Illinois, handcuffed and arrested 8-year-old Jmyha Rickman for allegedly throwing a tantrum.
School officials from Alton are standing by their decision to call in the police. "As a last resort we sometimes have to involve law enforcement," Alton Schools Assistant Superintendent Kristi Baumgartner says to news station KMOV.
As a result of all she has been through, Jmyha is now afraid to return to school, says her uncle, Nehemiah Keeton. As he told KMOV: “I feel like if you can’t handle an 8-year-old without calling the police, to put fear in them like my child, you don’t need to work with kids."
A school district like that in Alton, Illinois, that has come to rely on police to deal with its students is one that does not know how to teach them and that does not seem to have the best interests of children in mind. Tell the Alton School District to respect the rights of children!