Taking child into custody ‘last resort,’ police say in wake of complaints

In the wake of criticism by parents of an 11-year-old boy of his treatment by officers responding to a school incident, Brandon police said Friday that taking a child into custody is a “last resort.”

“That decision is made only when it is necessary to prevent harm to the child or to others,” Insp. Dana McCallum with the Brandon Police Service (BPS) said in an emailed statement to the Sun.

On Tuesday, BPS officers responded to Earl Oxford School after receiving reports of a student who was “screaming and striking” walls, BPS said in a news release the following day.

Police said the student punched the principal in the face multiple times and caused “significant” damage inside the school.

After giving the child’s mother a chance to talk to the boy, and him proceeding to punch through a wall and use the hole to enter the next room, officers handcuffed the child and took him into custody, BPS said.

BPS said officers also briefly took the mother into custody after she interfered with police, despite commands that she stay back.

The woman was released without charges, and the boy was released to his father and staff from the Child and Adolescent Treatment Centre later that day.

The boy’s mother posted photos of her son being escorted out of the school and criticized the police response.

“Cops threw my son around and me too after I started trying to record and take pictures!” she wrote in a Facebook post.

She said her son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant order and an intellectual delay disorder.

In an interview with CBC, the mother said her son was crying and struggling to breathe while officers pinned him on the floor. She said the boy had been working with a female education assistant and his behaviour was improving, but their relationship came to an end.

He has not had access to an occupational therapist or psychologist, despite requesting one, the mother told CBC.

The boy’s father said their family wants an apology and degree of accountability for how the situation was handled, according to the broadcaster.

The Sun reached out to the boy’s mother for comment but did not receive a response.

McCallum said when responding to situations involving a child under 12 who is acting erratically or violently, BPS’s primary focus is always on safety, both for the child and others involved.

“Officers assess the situation carefully, considering the child’s behaviour, any potential risk of harm and the surrounding circumstances,” she said.

McCallum said their approach emphasized de-escalation whenever possible.

“In this situation, the responding officers have training in de-escalation with extensive experience managing high-stress and crisis situations. The female responding officer is also a highly trained crisis negotiator,” she said.

“We do our best to handle these situations as safely and effectively as possible.”

The president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society said she’s “certainly seen an increase in the number of incidences of violence in our schools in the province.”

Lillian Klausen said she is hearing of more situations where students aren’t able to regulate their emotions or behaviours, resulting in incidents of students kicking, punching, hitting, spitting or throwing furniture or items around.

Only about half of MTS’s members have training in de-escalation techniques, she said.

She said there used to be teams of people, like guidance counsellors, social workers and psychologists, specifically trained for these situations, but she’s seen a “drastic decrease” in those supports over the years, putting more pressure on teachers.

The increase in violence in classrooms is the result of chronic underfunding over the past 10 years that’s created “a hole in the system,” Klausen said.

“It’s a very big struggle for teachers. Teachers are … talking about being at the breaking point,” she said. “More teachers … have indicated that they are looking at ways to maybe come out of the profession.”

“We are asking them year over year to do more and more with less.”

While she said calling the police for incidents involving violent students is the last resort, there are times when it’s not possible for school staff to de-escalate the situation on their own.

The Brandon School Division said it would not comment on the incident itself and acknowledged that the broader questions around supports for students, staff, schools and the community are important but “deserve a more thoughtful and in-depth conversation.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com