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Parents Of Handcuffed 7-Year-Old Sue DOE For $250 Million
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 28, 2013
Modified Feb 28, 2013
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 28, 2013
Modified Feb 28, 2013
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The parents of the 7-year-old Bronx boy who was handcuffed by the NYPD for hours after a fight are suing the Department of Education for a cool $250 million. Wilson Reyes's parents have already filed a lawsuit against the NYPD over the incident, and for good measure they're also slapping the DOE with a lawsuit, alleging that Principal Olivia Francis-Webber erred when she let police handcuff and interrogate Wilson at PS 114 without even notifying his mother.
Wilson was in custody for ten hours in January after he was accused of bullying another boy and stealing $5 from him. (He was later cleared of wrongdoing after another boy admitted to being the culprit.) When Wilson Reyes's mother Frances Mendez arrived at the 44th Precinct, she was shocked to see her son handcuffed to the wall. She recalls, "My son was crying, ‘Mommy, it wasn’t me! Mommy, it wasn’t me!' "
Family attorney Jack Yankowitz tells the Post, "The school was grossly negligent, reckless and complicit in the false imprisonment and arrest and abuse that 7-year-old Wilson Reyes suffered. It’s outrageous, it’s unconscionable."
Tagged
bullying
handcuffs
nypd
the bronx
wilson reyes
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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