A Texas family is seeking answers after their 7-year-old son with special needs was handcuffed and subdued by police officers using a Taser.
CBS News reports April Odis’ son, Yasio Lopez has attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and often disrupts his class at Gabe P. Allen Elementary School in Dallas. However, the 7-year-old has trained counselors to help him cope with the mood disorder.
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Earlier this month, Odis says Yasio had an episode that turned so violent, he began banging his head against the wall.
Odis’ attorney, Amar Dhillon says the school was in the midst of standardized testing that day and her son’s counselor was unavailable. Calling in his mother for assistance, Dhillon told CBS that before she could get to the school, the Dallas ISD police department was called in.
“[They] handcuffed the child and took him away,” he said.
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CNN reported that he was transported without his mother’s permission to a mental health facility, where they provided Yasio with medication to calm down. The facility then fought a judge to keep the boy in for treatment for up to 30 days. However, he only remained in the facility’s custody to the following Monday.
Yasio’s family says the school and police made the situation much worse than it needed to be with consideration to their son’s condition.
Dhillon tells CBS that the district police officers “used excessive force on the child by causing bruising on the boy’s legs as a result of beating him with a baton.” He also claims police used a Taser during the encounter.
“The boy did vividly describe being shocked and his body convulsing,” Dhillon said. “He was very clear about that.”
Due to privacy laws, the Dallas Independent School District has declined to comment.
