Police pepper-spray eight-year-old boy throwing a tantrum

Police pepper-spray violent eight-year-old boy

Wency Leung

Globe and Mail Update

Posted on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 1:34PM EDT

What’s the appropriate way to calm an eight-year old who’s throwing a violent temper tantrum? Talk him down? Send him to the principal’s office? Pepper-spray him – twice?

Police in Lakewood, Colo., opted for the latter tactic to subdue Aiden Elliot after the second-grader threatened teachers and students with a piece of wooden wall trim, which he held like a knife.

“I kind of blow up a little,” the boy admitted to ABC News. “I said I’m going to kill you....”

Aidan, who is in a class for children with behavioural problems, said his teachers had put him in a corner for acting rowdy, and had called his mother. His confinement enraged him.

According to the Associated Press, when asked whether he really intended to injure anyone, Aidan responded: “A little.”

“I kind of deserved it,” he acknowledged.

Aidan’s mother Mandy Elliot said she is upset with the school, and is filing a complaint against the police.

“Why didn’t they talk to him?” she said. Or, we wonder, remove the stick from his hand? How hard can it be to disarm an 8-year-old?

“He was red, handcuffed, crying screaming how much it burned,” she said.

Ms. Elliot added that her son only acts out at school, and is never violent at home with babysitters and family members, nor is he violent at his soccer and swimming activities.

Police defended their decision, saying the situation forced them to act quickly and that no one was injured. School officials, meanwhile, told the press they’ve been seeing more elementary and pre-school students behaving violently, and are concerned about the problem.

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Comment by Nikki on April 7, 2011 at 7:51pm: Guess he's lucky the cops didn't taser him.

Comment by Sweettina2 on April 7, 2011 at 6:43pm: Right on yall! Grown ass adults, trained to deal with children and other unruly people, trained to remain calm (hell, mothers all over the freakin world deal with brats every single day and manage to do it without freakin ass pepper spray or beating them to death!).....and they cave in and spray the kid. What's next rubber bullets? I am gonna start a one woman campaign to raise hell with these people, police and all.

Comment by TheLasersShadow on April 7, 2011 at 3:57pm: It seems modern day pigs have such a hard time with old ladys and children. I think I'll invent a projectile net device. You know like in the movies where they shoot an expanding net out of a shoulder fired gun. I'd rather them use a net than pepper spray and Tazers. All they would have to do is shoot the net at the kid, drag them next to a tree, toss the rope over a branch pull them up a few feet and let the kid sit for an hour or so until the parent could pick them up. No drama just the kid feeling dumb as he waits for mommy to beat his ass ... o wait we can't do that anymore, odd how kids years ago used to behave so much better and today some are nearly uncontrollable. They have no fear , the worst that could happen is their toys getting taken and a time out or grounded.

Comment by Tara on April 7, 2011 at 3:24pm: Wow, totally unnecessary! The mother has every right to be pissed off and file a complaint about the police. I mean, look at the kid. Does he look that menacing to grown adult men???? They could have easily subdued him by talking to him and getting the wooden object out of his hands.