The mother of a 10-year-old boy is outraged after a Mississippi police officer arrested and jailed her son for public urination.
The incident took place on Aug. 10 when the boy's mother, Latonya Eason, stopped by the Senatobia attorney's office for legal advice. Eason claims within as little as 10 minutes into the meeting, an officer interrupted the meeting and notified her that her 10-year-old son, Quantavious, was caught urinating behind her car.
Eason Said a Lieutenant Arrived on the Scene and Demanded the Boy Face More Stringent Consequences
"I was like, 'Son, why did you do that?' He said, 'Mom, my sister said they ain't got a bathroom in there.' I was like, 'Well, you knew better. You should have came and asked me if they had a restroom,'" Eason said to local news outlets.
Eason claimed the responding officer then said he was simply going to offer a son a warning, but things soon took a turn for the worse when other officers showed up moments after and a lieutenant on the scene insisted the boy face the consequence for his actions, both NBC12 and Fox13 reported.
"Another officer came over there and was like, 'Your son gotta get out of the car. He gotta be arrested because he can't do that," Eason said.
"No, him urinating in the parking lot was not right, but at the same time I handled it like a parent and for one office to tell my baby to get back in the car it was OK and to have the other pull up and take him to jail. Like no," Eason added. "I'm just speechless right now. Why would you arrest a 10-year-old kid?"
Quantavious was Placed in a Jail Cell, Charged
"I started crying a little bit," Quantavious said to the news outlets, "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'm going to jail."
The child was taken to the police station and was placed in a jail cell. They then charged the boy with child in need of services, then released him to her.
"That could really traumatize my baby. My baby could get to the point where he don't wanna have an encounter with police – period," she said to the news outlets.
Senatobia Police Admit 'Error in Judgement'
In Senatobia, Police Chief Richard Chandler's addressed the incident, saying that an officer did not see a parent on the scene during the contact with the child and the mother was located at a nearby business a short time later. He also said she was told that her child was going to receive a Youth Court Referral for the matter.
But Chandler later admitted taking the child to jail was a mistake. "Under these circumstances, it was an error in judgement for us to transport the child to the police station since the mother was present at that time as a reasonable alternative," the statement read.
