Florida Officer Suspended After Arresting Two 6-Year-Old Kids At School
Florida Officer Suspended After Arresting Two 6-Year-Old Kids At School
Source: Orlando Police Department

Orlando Officer Suspended After Arresting Two 6-Year-Old Kids At School

Source: Orlando Police Department

UPDATE: Dennis Turner, the officer who arrested two 6-year-old kids last week, has been suspended.

Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón said in a statement that the reserve school resource officer, Dennis Turner, did not obtain the approval of a commanding officer before making the arrests on Thursday, as department policy requires.

"The Orlando Police Department has a policy that addresses the arrest of a minor and our initial finding shows the policy was not followed," Rolón said, according to NBC News. "As a grandparent of three children less than 11 years old this is very concerning to me."

Neither Kaia Rolle or the other 6-year-old arrested by Turner will not be prosecuted by State's Attorney Aramis Ayala.

Read the original story below.

"No 6-year-old child should be able to tell somebody that they had handcuffs on them, and they were riding in the back of a police car and taken to a juvenile center to be fingerprinted, mug shot."

The Orlando Police Department has opened an internal investigation into Dennis Turner, a retired officer that reportedly arrested and charged Kaia Rolle, a 6-year-old girl, with battery for throwing a temper tantrum in the principal's office of her school earlier this week.

According to Rolle's grandmother, Meralyn Kirkland, Kaia was handcuffed and sent to a juvenile detention center, where a mugshot and fingerprints were taken. Turner, who retired from the force last year, was on-duty as the school's resource officer when he arrested Kirkland and a 6-year-old boy.

READ: Michigan Police Officer Fired After a Framed KKK Application was Discovered on The Wall of His Home

It isn't his first charge of excessive force. Per a 2016 report by The Orlando Sentinel, Turner was previously reprimanded for tasering a prisoner five times, twice while they were incapacitated and had ceased to resist.

"As a grandparent of three children less than 11 years old this is very concerning to me," Police Chief Orlando Rolón told Buzzfeed. He adds, "Our Department strives to deliver professional and courteous service. My staff and I are committed to exceeding those standards and expectations."

According to Florida state law, a child under 12-years-old cannot be arrested by a school resource officer without the explicit permission of their watch commander. The department claims Turner failed to make the request.

Sign Up To Our Newsletter