Sheriff defends deputies who detained and handcuffed 11-year-old girl after mistaking her for suspect

A sheriff’s workplace in New York defended two deputies who detained and handcuffed an 11-year-old woman this week, saying she matched the outline of a suspect. The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Workplace, responding to criticism after a video of the encounter was posted on-line, known as the deputies’ actions “affordable” however mentioned it will change its coverage to inform a father or mother or guardian of any little one who’s detained for felony investigative functions, which it didn’t do on this occasion.

The deputies handcuffed the 11-year-old, who has not been publicly recognized, for seven minutes Monday afternoon in Syracuse, in response to a timeline of her detainment launched by the sheriff’s workplace, which mentioned she was dressed equally to an individual who was wished in reference to the theft of a automotive. The woman was detained a couple of blocks from the place the stolen automotive was initially noticed, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.

The wished particular person, who, just like the woman, is Black, has not been recognized or captured. The dashcam of a deputy’s patrol automobile recorded her as she was fleeing from the stolen automobile, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.

A girl who recognized herself on Fb because the 11-year-old’s mom and shared movies of the woman’s interplay with the deputies couldn’t instantly be reached for remark. Her Fb publish had been shared practically 6,000 instances as of early Thursday afternoon and garnered greater than 130 feedback, the overwhelming majority of them criticizing the sheriff’s workplace for having handcuffed the woman and never having notified her mother and father that she had been detained.

Within the video, the woman stands with two deputies on a snow-filled sidewalk along with her palms cuffed behind her again. One of many deputies tells the youngsters who had been along with her that they will hold going, however certainly one of them responds that she has to stick with the woman as a result of they’re associated.

“We are able to’t simply go away her,” one of many kids says.

One of many kids tells the deputies that they had been coming from faculty. The feminine deputy tells the handcuffed woman that somebody sporting “the very same factor you’re sporting simply stole a automotive,” prompting one of many kids to reply: “We are able to’t drive.”

The feminine deputy tells her: “What do you imply? Most children can’t drive, and so they’re nonetheless out right here stealing vehicles.”

The youngsters inform the deputies that they had been taking part in within the snow on their method dwelling from faculty.

The deputies inform the youngsters that the wished particular person was sporting an outfit just like the 11-year-old woman’s — a pink jacket and camouflage pants.

“The very same description,” the male deputy says.

The feminine deputy tells the youngsters that she’s ready to be despatched an image of the particular person and that if it isn’t the woman they detained, they’ll let her go.

As soon as the deputy receives the picture, she holds up her cellphone and asks the kid she detained: “Woman, you’re gonna inform me this ain’t you?”

The youngsters collect across the deputy to view the picture and level out the disparities between the woman and the wished particular person, together with variations of their complexions and the footwear they had been sporting. At one level within the video, the woman may be heard crying.

The sheriff’s workplace mentioned a deputy with direct view of the dashcam video had used FaceTime to view the handcuffed little one and decided she was not a suspect. The sheriff’s workplace mentioned it documented variations between the woman and the wished particular person, together with within the camouflage patterns of their pants, the grains of their pink jackets, the size of their hair and their complexions, the company mentioned in a press release.

“This case was cleared up rapidly, largely as a result of juvenile’s disposition, persistence, and cooperation,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.

Sheriff Tobias Shelley mentioned he had met with the woman’s mom to debate her issues and that he understood why she was upset about not having been knowledgeable that her daughter was handcuffed. The sheriff’s workplace mentioned it will change its coverage “to inform a father or mother or guardian of any juvenile who’s detained for felony investigative functions, regardless of how transient the encounter is.”

The New York Civil Liberties Union condemned the deputies’ actions, saying in a press release that it was “extraordinarily disturbed by the aggressive remedy of an 11-year-old Black little one by the hands of Syracuse Sheriff’s deputies, and their failure to inform the kid’s mother and father.”

“This mistreatment raises severe issues about implicit racial bias, which too typically leads regulation enforcement officers to understand kids of shade as a risk. It additionally raises questions on applicable coaching and protocols within the Sheriff’s workplace,” the civil rights group mentioned. “The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Workplace should interact the group in dialogue and make additional adjustments with group enter.”

The sheriff’s workplace mentioned in a press release that detainees “are normally handcuffed initially” as a result of they could turn into uncooperative, flee or battle.

“Handcuffing juveniles on this circumstance is lawful, inside coverage, and customary observe in regulation enforcement,” the assertion mentioned.

The woman’s mom informed NBC affiliate WSTM of Syracuse that she couldn’t comprehend what she noticed when she watched the video.

“Even when it wasn’t my little one, I wouldn’t be capable of end watching the video, as a result of that’s not the way you deal with kids,” she informed the station.

This text was initially printed on NBCNews.com