A 10-year-old boy in Mississippi, United States, was arrested by the police for urinating behind his mother's car, as per a report in the New York Post. The incident took place on August 10 when the boy's mother, Latonya Eason, was meeting with her lawyer. The outlet said that a police officer informed her that he caught her son urinating behind the car. The woman, however, said that the cops went overboard with the incident of public urination which could "traumatise" the child.
She spoke to TV station WHBQ and told them that she asked her why he urinatedbehind the vehicle. "He said, 'Mom, my sister said they don't have a bathroom there, I was like, 'You knew better, you should have come and asked me if they had a restroom'," the woman told WHBQ.
Ms Eason claimed that the officer informed her that Quantavious could return to the car and that he would only issue a warning. However, several other officers arrived and stated that the 10-year-old needed to be taken to jail.
The mother continued, "No, him urinating in the parking lot was not right, but at the same time I handled it like a parent and for one officer to tell my baby to get back in the car like it was OK and to have the other pull up and take him to jail. Like no. I'm just speechless right now. Why would you arrest a 10-year-old kid."
The 10-year-old boy stated that he got "scared" by the whole incident and he started crying when the cops came to get him out of the vehicle. "They took me down there and got me out of the truck. I didn't know what was happening. I get scared and start shaking and thinking I am going to jail," he told the outlet.
According to the Post, the boy was taken to jail and later sent back with his mother. It is to be noted that he was not handcuffed during the ordeal. However, he was "charged with child in need of services". Ms Eason added, "That could really traumatize my baby. My baby could get to the point where he won't want to have an encounter with the police period."
Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler cited the state's Youth Court Act, according to which law enforcement can report children as young as seven-years-old if they are "in need of supervision" or aged 10 "if they commit acts that would be illegal for an adult." He added that transporting children from the scene depends on several factors.
"In this situation, an officer personally witnessed a 10-year-old child committing an act in public that would have been illegal for an adult under these circumstances. The mother was located at a nearby business shortly thereafter and she was advised that her child was going to receive a Youth Court Referral for this matter," he said in a statement. However, the cop said that it was "an error in judgement" to send the child to the police station "since the mother was present at that time as a reasonable alternative."
