American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against Kansas City Public Schools for excessive force.
The lawsuit stems from a 2014 incident, where school officials at Melchler Elementary School placed Kalyb Primm, who was 7 years old at the time, in handcuffs for misbehaving.
According to ACLU, Primm began yelling and crying after being teased by other students.
The lawsuit states that Brandon Craddock, the school's resource officer at the time, called Primm out into the hallway to get the boy to calm down. Craddock had Primm accompany him as he ran some errands within in the school, even though the boy was frightened and visibly upset. According to court documents, Craddock told Primm to "shut up that crying."
At some point, Primm tried pushing past the officer, that's when Craddock grabbed Primm by the wrists and began dragging him down the hallway, according to the lawsuit. When Primm tried grabbing ahold of a handrail, that's when the officer placed the boy in handcuffs.
According to ACLU, Primm sat in the principals office for 15 minutes, all while in handcuffs, until the boy's father arrived.
The lawsuit states that the school used excessive force when handling Primm, since the boy was not getting physical with anyone or making any threats.
Phone calls and emails were placed into KCPS but were not returned.
In 2014, when 41 Action News initially reported the story, KCPS said it was the school's policy to place kids in handcuffs, but only as a last resort.
It's not clear if that policy has since been changed.
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Jessica McMaster can be reached at jessica.mcmaster@kshb.com.
