On Sept. 19, 2019, 6-year-old Kaia Rolle was arrested at her school in Orlando, Florida, and charged with misdemeanor battery, Tampa Bay Times reports.
The police report says Rolle kicked and punched three staff members, and that one of them wanted to press charges and testify against her in court, but WESH reports that the school is denying this, saying they never wanted the young girl to be charged or arrested.
Officer Dennis Turner arrested the girl anyway, ignoring concerned questions from teachers and saying she had “broken the record” for the youngest person he’d ever arrested, WPTV reports.
Turner not only arrested Rolle, but placed her in restraints and even put her in the back of a police vehicle, despite her crying and asking to be let go, body cam footage — which NBC reports was obtained and released by the family’s lawyer — reveals.
(Warning: the following video contains content that may disturbing to some viewers.)
After her arrest, Rolle was taken to a county juvenile center to have her mugshot and fingerprints recorded, according to the New York Post.
The girl’s family told WFLA that her poor behavior was related to a sleep disorder — sleep apnea — which they were working to resolve at the time.
Turner arrested a second 6-year-old the same day in an unrelated incident, Newsweek reports, causing a public outcry for his removal.
Less than a week after the incident, local police Chief Orlando Rolon told WESH he was shocked by Turner’s actions and that the officer had been fired — as he had broken the department’s standard policy of seeking supervisor approval before arresting children under age 12.
The charges against both 6-year-olds were never pursued by the state attorneys, Newsweek reports.