US Woman Sues Police After Son Arrested For Urinating In Public

The mother of a 10-year-old boy, who was arrested for urinating in public, has filed a case against the City of Senatobia (in Mississippi) seeking $2 million in damages, according to New York Post. Quantavious Eason was taken into custody in August last year after a policeman caught him urinating behind the door of his mother's car in a parking lot. The Class 3 student was not handcuffed but was held in prison cell "45 minutes to one hour", as per the Post report.

The boy's mother is demanding $2 million compensatory damages from the city authorities, police chief Richard Chandler, former officer Zachary Jenkins and four unnamed police officers for the "physical and psychological injuries" she and her son endured from the incident.

In her lawsuit, Latonya Eason said her son still suffers from "embarrassment, harassment, PTSD, shock, and other physical, emotional, and traumatising injuries" from the incident.

"It gets to the point where he sees police officers, he just starts shaking. He's frightened," Ms Eason told local news channel Action News 5.

The police chief told the television channel that the boy's arrest was "an error in judgement", and that it "violated" their policy.

CNN said that after his arrest, the 10-year-old was sentenced to three months' probation and assigned a two-page book report on the late NBA player Kobe Bryant.

But his lawyers moved court saying the case should be dismissed "because the arresting officer has been terminated for executing an improper arrest on the minor".

They also pleaded before the court that Eason was 10, with no criminal record and with the "mental culpability" of a child that age.

The judge accepted the arguments and dismissed the case.

The police officer who arrested the boy was terminated after about 10 days.