Cop who arrested and jailed 10-year-old boy for urinating in parking lot is ‘no longer employed’

A Mississippi Police officer who took part in the arrest and jailing of a 10-year-old boy who urinated in a parking lot is now “no longer employed,” the Associated Press reported.

The news was announced in a Facebook post from Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler, who didn’t specify if the officer was fired or if he quit. Other officers will reportedly face discipline over the incident, but Chandler didn’t specify as to that that discipline would be.

“We appreciate the public’s patience while we investigated this incident. We deeply value your trust and support, and we are dedicated to continually improving and learning from our mistakes,” Chandler wrote.

From the AP:

The child’s mother told news outlets that her son urinated behind her vehicle while she was visiting a lawyer’s office on Aug. 10, and that officers then put him in a squad car and took him to the police station.

Chandler said the child was not handcuffed or charged and that the officers issued a citation for a “child in need of services.” It wasn’t clear Tuesday if that citation had been rescinded.

Latonya Eason took to Facebook on Aug. 10, posting a photo of her son sitting in the back of a Senatobia Police Department cruiser.

Eason said she was inside an attorney’s office seeking legal advice, when an officer entered and said he saw her son urinating behind her car in the parking lot.

“I was like, ‘you knew better, you should have come and asked me if they had a restroom,'” the mother told WHBQ-TV.

The officer said he was going to simply issue a warning, Eason said, but then more police arrived.

Eason said that one of the officers said the child needed to go to jail. “I’m just speechless right now. Why would you arrest a 10-year-old kid?” she said.

The boy said he was frightened. “I started crying a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t know what was happening.”

Read the full report at the Associated Press.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.