Child's arrest angers Minn. tribe

[deadparrot]

Source: Associated Press

VINELAND, Minn. - The 11-year-old boy was led from his school in handcuffs, held overnight in a juvenile detention center, and hauled into court in shackles and an orange prison jumpsuit.

His crime? Missing a court date to testify as the victim of an assault.

The treatment of the boy, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, has reignited a decades-old feud between the tribe and officials from the surrounding county in central Minnesota.

"There's other people out there they could have picked to make an example of," said Kristie Lee Davis-Deyhle, the boy's mother, in her first interview about the case. "Not an 11-year-old."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070509/ap_on_re_us/child_arrest

[tblue]

1. Sometimes I think the world has gone completely insane. What idiot made that call?

[Ferret Annica]

2. They should be fired for this

What has happened to this country? I just don't recognize it anymore.

[anotherdrew]

19. they should be more than fired. there needs to be a mark made "may never hold authority again"

I don't know where you make the mark, maybe on their drivers license or something. but it is high time we start getting rid of these kind.

[azurnoir]

3. Mil Lacs county IS racist

note there is no mention of the 13 year old who was the perp and did not show up, that says something right there about who the kid most likely was. There have been hard feelings and racist threats ever since the Mil Lacs band won year round fishing rights on the lake in the '90's.

[rodeodance]

4. His crime? Missing a court date to testify as the victim "...MY Gawd!! what is

is world coming too??

[rodeodance]

6. the next day they let him go (sounds like it was just to make a statement)!!

.......The boy spent the night at the juvenile detention center, about 60 miles away in St. Cloud. At the court hearing the next morning, in which the boy was brought into court in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles, prosecutors announced that they wouldn't press charges and that he was free to go.

Kolb is unapologetic about the boy's treatment. She said the entire point of the prosecution was to make him safer against the 13-year-old aggressor.

"This family knew his appearance was needed in court," Kolb said. "Someone needed to step in and say, we'll get him there next time. Some showing of accountability or acknowledgment of the criminal justice system."

Last week, Benjamin asked the state attorney general to intervene and force Kolb to change her practices; lawyers from that office went to Mille Lacs County and are now determining if they have jurisdiction.

The
American Civil Liberties Union is also seeking a government investigation, and Brunkow said the family is likely to file a federal civil rights lawsuit.

[intheflow]

12. Them injuns ar goin' to have sum accountability, damnit!

I hope the family presses charges. There was no call for this whatsoever.

[AnneD]

21. WTF...

"Kolb is unapologetic about the boy's treatment. She said the entire point of the prosecution was to make him safer against the 13-year-old aggressor." :wtf: most law enforcement agencies around here will offer the victim police protection because, after all, they ARE the victims.

"This family knew his appearance was needed in court," Kolb said. "Someone needed to step in and say, we'll get him there next time. Some showing of accountability or acknowledgment of the criminal justice system." AHH, now we have the REAL reason. They wanted to whip out their little dick of power and wave it around. Say, were they on Indian Land and what happened to sovereignty. Hope the tribe sues the crap out of them. No 11yo needs to go through that, and esp if they are the victim.

[wellstone dem]

5. this article is not accurate, the facts are even worse.

The Minneapolis tribune had an article on this I think on May 2,

The child was not hand cuffed by the tribal police, he was handcuffed after custody was transferred to Mille Lacs County. Also, when the child was transported in cuffs and in an orange jumpsuit, a non-indian child was transported at the same time, not in restraints or a jumpsuit.

This is how a crime victim, who happens to be an indian child is treated. Outrageious.

I tried to find a link to the article, I think the Minneapolis tribune had it on May 2. Here it is http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1159382.html

also found a article from the next day

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1159382.html

[rodeodance]

7. thanks, I will read.

[azurnoir]

8. Unfortunately it is indicitve of how Indians

are treated by law enforcement and the community at large through out the state. In this case I am not sure about the legality of handcuffing a juvenile who is not accused of a crime, to this heavy handed is an understatement.

[JNelson6563]

18. Who could've thought it was worse?!?

Thank you for adding to the info with this post. Hard to believe the situation is actually worse than what was in the OP!

Just more terrorizing the Native Americans. Why break with our centuries old tradition?

UGH!

Julie

[BikeWriter]

9. This is insane!

[bread_and_roses]

10. where are our resident supporters of handcuffing kindergardners?

surprised they havn't shown up yet to cheer on enforcing "law 'n order" on young children.

[LostinVA]

14. I'm surprised by their absence, too

[FloridaJudy]

11. Way to reduce your crime statistics

By making people think twice about reporting they'd been victims.

If it isn't reported, it didn't happen, right? :sarcasm:
And the RW wonders why minorities don't like the cops.

[madaboutharry]

13. Someone in the prosecutors' office

needed to apply "The No A**hole Rule," starting with the prosecutor.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Angers the tribe? Why the hell doesn't it anger everyone?

The kid isn't a mass murderer after all.

[Bassic]

16. What fucking inbred moron thought this one up?

I mean for fuck's sake, how can something like this seem like a good idea to anyone?

[JNelson6563]

17. And a mighty WTF???

What is wrong with those people? If I were this poor boy's mother I'd sue the crap out these assholes.

Julie

[suffragette]

20. Now he's been victimized twice

Once by his assailant and once by the people who are supposed to protect him and his rights.

Stunning injustice.

[Megahurtz]

22. Seriously WTF???

:wtf:

Oh how great it is to be victimized by another person
and then by the System that's supposed to protect you. :sarcasm:

[tabasco]

23. Unconscionable act caused by police state mentality.

We are all criminals in the police state.

[RL3AO]

24. From Wikipedia

The term police state is a pejorative term for a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population, especially by means of a secret police force which operates above the normal constraints found in a liberal democracy. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.



Yes. That sounds just like the United States. :eyes:

[tabasco]

25. Tell Kathryn Johnston how free we are.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/26/atlanta.indictments/index.html

The US has more people in prison than any other country in the world, both in absolute and proportional terms.

Hundreds of thousands of non-violent marijuana offenders included.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/30/AR2006113000912.html

Yeah, you're right. It does sound like the US.