The 7-year-old was spending his first day at Fall River's Coughlin Elementary School, after transferring from a Boston school, when he became disruptive, and police were called.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, April 30, 2005

BY ROB MARGETTA
Journal Staff Writer

FALL RIVER -- The police say they handcuffed a 7-year-old student at the Coughlin Elementary School after the first grader struck two officers and three members of the school's staff Thursday morning.

The boy's wrists and ankles were cuffed in such a way that there was no metal touching his skin and he was placed in a chair until his mother came to pick him up, Police Department spokesman Lt. Jeffrey Cardoza said.

The child will face assault charges in juvenile court.

Schools Supt. Richard D. Pavao said the boy had been attending the school for only a few hours when the incident took place.

The boy had transferred from a Boston elementary school and was spending his first day at Coughlin, when he became disruptive in class, Pavao said.

After his teacher called for assistance, the boy was taken from his classroom. He struck teachers and staff along the way, and was disruptive in the principal's office, the police said.

Eventually, the school staff decided to bring the boy out to the school's front lawn, to separate him from other students, the police said.

At about 11:30 a.m., one police officer responded to a call from the school, but when he arrived, the boy began punching him and attempted to run away.

The officer called to his superior for backup. When the superior officer arrived, the boy punched him in the groin, the police said.

A watch commander at police headquarters advised the officers at the scene to handcuff the child.

Eric Arsenault, who lives at 1992 Pleasant St., just across from Coughlin Elementary School, was watching from his third-floor window as the boy's mother arrived. At that point, he said, the child was not handcuffed.

"They brought him out of the school and he kicked a cop car," Arsenault said.

When an officer offered the boy his book bag, he snatched it and walked away with his mother to her car, parked nearby, he said.

Pavao said the boy is not physically or mentally handicapped, but is enrolled as a special education student. Because the boy is so new to Coughlin, "we don't have a full record of his behavior," Pavao said.

The incident occurred two weeks after the police in St. Petersburg, Fla., handcuffed 5-year-old Ja'eisha Scott, who had a tantrum in class, ripped papers from the wall, scattered supplies in the assistant principal's office and repeatedly struck the assistant principal.

As school got out yesterday, many Coughlin parents were supportive of the school and the police, saying there was one key difference between the use of handcuffs in Fall River and St. Petersburg -- by all accounts so far, during Thursday's incident, the boy assaulted at least five people.

"If this student was hitting people, it's not exactly parallel to the other incident," parent Cheryl Castonguay said.

Pavao said he couldn't comment on how appropriate it was to use handcuffs to restrain the child, but said that Fall River schools have a policy of calling the police if any student becomes violent.

"The child was physically abusive with the staff, verbally abusive with the staff, and the department protocols said to call the police," he said.

Police Chief John M. Souza released a statement yesterday saying his department "supports the actions of the officers in this instance."

"Officers utilized the most readily available method of restraint . . . to prevent the child from further assaultive behavior and to protect him from causing harm to himself or others," he wrote.

Lieutenant Cardoza said the department is not investigating the incident at this time and has not been reproached by the boy's mother.

"No one's made a complaint," he said.

Not all Coughlin parents agreed with the actions taken by the police. Susan DeAlmeida, who has a daughter in the fourth grade, said, "I find that wrong. If they handcuffed my child, I'd be upset. That's not something you do."

But she and all other parents interviewed gave the school and Principal Diane A. Dugal high marks, saying they'd never heard of any other violent activity at Coughlin.

"I think it's ridiculous. Something good happens, no one shows up. A kid hits a teacher, everyone shows up," Omer Thibault said. "The child was out of hand and had to be restrained."

Castonguay said she was worried about the sudden media attention the school received yesterday.

"I'd hate to have any adverse publicity, because the teachers try so hard."

With staff reports from Alisha A. Pina.

To contact Rob Margetta, phone (508) 674-8401 or e-mail rmargett@projo.com