What Happened?
On Thursday, Sept. 19, Officer Dennis Turner of the Orlando Police Department arrested two 6-year-olds — a girl and a boy — at an Orlando charter school, according to CBS. The children were allegedly arrested for misbehaving.
Turner, a member of the Orlando Police Department’s volunteer Reserve Officer Program and a school resource officer, brought the children to a juvenile detention center.
Both children were involved in separate incidents and had misdemeanor battery charges brought upon them.
According to CBS, one child was processed at a juvenile assessment center, while the other was returned to her school before being formally processed. Both children ended up being released to family members.
In Context
The grandmother of the 6-year-old girl, Merlayn Kirkland, was surprised to learn that her granddaughter had been arrested, according to Time.
Kirkland was told that her granddaughter had been arrested for kicking a classmate. Kirkland attributed her granddaughter’s alleged misbehavior to her sleep apnea, preventing her from sleeping well at night.
The Latest
According to WKMG, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón announced Monday that Turner had been fired from the police department and will no longer serve as a school resource officer.
“On behalf of the entire Orlando Police Department, I apologize to the children involved and their families,” Rolón stated in a message posted on the OPD Twitter page. “Additionally, I have taken steps to ensure this does not occur in the future.”
Both children have had their charges dropped as of Monday, according to CBS.
An internal investigation of Turner had found that he had arrested both children without the permission of his supervisor, according to CBS. He was initially suspended as a part of the investigation.
According to CBS, the Orlando Police Department’s policy requires officers to get permission from supervisors before arresting children under 12 years of age, which Turner did not.
