A controversial decision by police to place a five year-old, special needs boy in handcuffs has the boy's parents threatening to sue.

Last Wednesday, police were called to the Indian River Central School District in Philadelphia, New York after the school staff reported that the boy, Connor Ruiz, was “was jumping from cabinets and desks, was attempting to jump out of a window ... he was stabbing himself with pencils and eating paper.”. The Watertown Daily Times says that Ruiz allegedly bit off a piece of foam from a play mat“and tried to cause himself to choke.”. The NY State troopers who arrived said that they tried to restrain the child, using both verbal and physical techniques. Both techniques were said to be unsuccessful. The pair decided to take the boy to Samaritan Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. The Daily Times reports that the officers then handcuffed Connor and carried him to their vehicle. The officers said they had to shackle his feet “because he was attempting to kick and be physically combative.”

School staff notified Ruiz's parents that Connor had been taken to the hospital for evaluation by police because he “posed a risk to himself, students, school staff, and troopers.” However, a doctor at the hospital told the boy's mother, that he  did not need to see a psychiatrist following the episode, and that “he was just being a boy and threw a tantrum.” His mother, Chelsea Ruiz, told the Watertown Daily Times that her son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. She says that her song had started in the special needs class at Philadelphia Primary just two weeks earlier.

The school claims that Connor's father gave permission to have his son transported, though his father has denied this. Connor's parents say their son is terrifed of returning to school. Chelsea Ruiz says they plan to sue. "I’ll be suing for emotional distress, child cruelty and endangerment for cuffing his hands and feet,” Chelsea Ruiz said. “I will make sure that I get every person who was involved in this to take responsibility.”

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