Wilson Reyes is one of those hardened criminals who are hard to break. Police handcuffed Reyes, threw him in a cruiser, and interrogated him for a reported ten hours. Yet, Reyes insisted he was innocent and had to be released . . . to his mother. The seven-year-old boy was accused of stealing $5 on a playground at his school.
The family’s account is contained in a complaint, detailing the case against New York and the Bronx police. It began when a kid dropped $5 on the playground — money that was going to be used on a canceled field trip. When a kid fingered Reyes, he was dragged to the principal’s office after being yanked from class. He was then handcuffed by Bronx police and grilled for ten hours.
Before being hauled off to the police station, Reyes was held in custody for four hours at PS X114. He was then taken to the 44th Precinct station house for another six hours of interrogation.
What is most disturbing is that the parents say that police would not allow them to see their child while in custody. When they did, they found him handcuffed to a wall.
When cops finally allowed the pair to see the boy, they found the panicked kid seated in a shabby chair with his left wrist cuffed to the wall, Mendez said.
The police later dropped the robbery charge against the seven-year-old. Police insist that he was held for half the time stated by the family. That would still be five hours for $5.
In the meantime, another classmate admitted to taking the $5.
Now Reyes is seeking $250 million claim against the city and the NYPD. That seems a bit high by about $249,750,000. However, if these facts are proven, some liability would seem warranted. What is also warranted is a review of the judgment and decisions of these teachers and administrators in turning this into a criminal matter. We have discussed how states like Mississippi are now using police where simple parent-teacher meetings were once used. We are criminalizing our schools — and our students. It is part of a general criminalization of America that now starts in elementary school.
Source: NY Post
Here’s an article containing a picture of the poor kid while handcuffed. The article also mentions that another student was proven to be the thief…though there’s no picture or name, so we can’t tell the skin of the actual miscreant, only the kid who was assumed guilty.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270988/7-year-old-Wilson-Reyes-interrogated-10-hours-Family-sue-New-York-cops-250m.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
If I were falsely accused in such a situation, I’d sue for nine figures with one caveat: For every pi…uh, “cop” involved who pleads guilty (wrongful arrest, assault, false imprisonment, etc.) and gets significant time in prison, I would drop my claim by $10-20 million. Make the swine fall on their swords if they actually believe they are “serving the public interest”.
While I can understand the comment “I hope they get millions”, the problem is the taxpayers pay the penalty. I wish the actual guilty parties were the ones who had to pay the penalty or at least shared the expense.
My 9-year old said If the family gets millions, he wants me to offer $500,000 to a police officer to hold him for several hours as long as he gets over 50% of the take.
Let’s not forget the actions of the cops were initiated by school administrators, a collective of equally-culpable dumbasses, but with master’s degrees. I’d say it should be a 50/50 split when compensation is granted.
Steve Fleischer
1, January 31, 2013 at 11:29 am
When we have cops who hold/terrify a 7 year old boy for a minimum of 5 hours (if you believe their story), then we have a deep societal problem.
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where the hell have you been?
MikeS, Race, class, etc. are too often in play when cops behave badly. However, to cavalierly play that card w/o any evidence provided here is also wrong.
NickS,
I’m a New Yorker, you aren’t. This kid was from the Bronx with a Latino last name. The kid comes from what is known as the South Bronx/Tremont area. It is a lower income area where 65% of the people earn $30,000 or less, which in NYC makes you relatively poor. The area’s population is almost 3/4 Black or Latino. Now the area is far less dangerous than in 1980 and 1981, when I covered it as a case manager in my placement year in Grad School and it was called “Fort Apache” by the police (remember the awful Paul Newman movie?) and there are some nice venues within it. However, I can guarantee you that this wouldn’t have happened to a kid living in the Riverdale Section of the Bronx.
http://www.movoto.com/neighborhood/ny/bronx/10452.htm
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Riverdale-Bronx-NY.html
Where does this Pirate Territory called New York City begin, and where does it end? What are the boundaries? Does it include Long Island? Do the neighboring territories have a navy nearby that curtails sea piracy? Boat dogs need to know.
If the school and the police thought that treating a 7 year old with “scared straight” tactics, I’ll wager in a few years this child likely will demonstrate angry/agressive/anti-social behavior, exactly the opposite reaction intended.
Tony C. 1, January 31, 2013 at 11:05 am
… It isn’t a question about how much the Reyes deserve, it is a question of how much money it takes before the city and police will police themselves.
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Bingo!
The kid was guilty of the crime of growing up as a person of color. As for the handcuffing what threat did this child pose to the police officers that needed restraint? They were stupidly and sadistically teaching him a lesson that will unfortunately stay with him for a lifetime.
If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If your a cop, everyone looks like a criminal. Common sense isn’t so common anymore.
When we have cops who hold/terrify a 7 year old boy for a minimum of 5 hours (if you believe their story), then we have a deep societal problem.
The police mentality that either sees nothing wrong in these actions or does not speak up when witnessing a moral and legal wrong is frightening.
Suggest that legal and ethics training be provided (with dismissal for those cops who “do not get it”) to all police.
Also, some history (Nuremberg Trials) would be appropriate.
We are seeing a consequence of the War on Terror – civil rights are being diminished; as is compassion and common sense.
itchinBayDog: You have to bark into that Dogologue Machine more precisely. Dont bark like the New York dog that you are. It is 33rd Street and 3rd Avenue. No turds. The machine prints it out according to the barking accent.
itchinBayDog here. Is that the cop house up on turdy turd and a turd?
In Saudia Arabia they would hand cuff a seven year old for not respecting the Koran. Here in NYC they worship money.
A seven year old kid. That seven word has an n on the end. In dog years he would be 49. The cop who handcuffed him to the wall was not required to do so, and therefore he needs to be handcuffed to the wall, same one, for say 49 years. Arbitrary you may say. Yeah. Turnabout is fair play on the playground and in the pigsty.
As well as they should be….
I wrote an article called “The King of Ruffle Bar and the Insanity of Bureaucracy” not long ago which goes into this topic. Basically, for some reason, the west has a tendency to seek bureaucratic neatness in everything that it does, regardless of whether or not it makes any sense. It’s something unique to the west as well; other cultures don’t have these problems.
http://seankerrigan.com/the-king-of-ruffle-bar-and-the-insanity-of-bureaucracy/
I hope they get millions, because that is what it will take to make an impression on city management. Let the city lose, and then they can bargain for the cop that was in charge of the 44th to be demoted, replaced, or fired. It isn’t a question about how much the Reyes deserve, it is a question of how much money it takes before the city and police will police themselves.
The poor conduct on behalf of the administrators and police aside, I find the concept of migrating schooling issues to the police interesting. And although I recognize many bad decisions by school administrators, particularly recently, I wonder to what degree their poor decisions are driven by frustration with parents inadequate and inattentive parenting.
I saw this story and was shocked. To handcuff and bring a 7 year old to the police station over allegations involving $5.00 is disgusting and amazing. The city and the school district should get ready to dig deep into their pockets. This boy could be scarred for life over this event. I had a similar experience with a juvenile cop, but I was in 3rd or 4th grade and the nuns put me in a dimly lit storage room in the school to be interrogated by this officer. As you can see, I remember everything about that sad experience.