Child with Autism arrested in Okeechobee
Sheriff’s Office releases details of incident leading to child's arrest
Sheriff’s Office releases details of incident leading to child's arrest
Sheriff’s Office releases details of incident leading to child's arrest
A 10-year-old boy appeared in court on charges of assaulting his teacher in the fall of 2016 and was released to his mother.
A school resource deputy at the Okeechobee Achievement Academy wrote that on October 27, John Haygood left scratches and marks on his teacher’s arm after kicking and punching.
The incident report states that Haygood was being disruptive to class, throwing paper balls and hitting other students so the teacher asked him to go to time-out. The report states that Haygood refused so the teacher attempted to remove him and then he attacked.
“I know what happened six months ago,” said Luanne Haygood, admitting that she knew her son did have a scuffle with a staff member. But she insisted that she was never warned of any warrants for his arrest or imminent problems with law enforcement. “I never seen an arrest report, I never saw the charges I just know what was told that he may or may not press charges.”
On Wednesday, Haygood returned to the school campus to take a standardized test but was handcuffed and carried away.
“For him to come in, in a jumpsuit that is covering his feet and 6 inches past his hand and when the judge asks him to raise his right hand we couldn’t even find it,” his mother described the painful moments watching him go before a judge Thursday.
The judge set another court date for John to return on May 11th and his mother said she plans to hire an attorney to fight for his innocence. The school district sent the following statement in regards to what happened:
"It has been district procedure to invite students in to take the Florida Standards Assessment. The district would not invite someone to one of our campuses for the sole purpose to arrest.
The district routinely assists students by providing services from our
board certified behavioral analyst, licensed mental health counselors,
school social workers, and psychologists.
As a team, these individuals develop interventions, conduct assessments, and offer support both at school and in the home in order to assist students and
families.
The district is unable to provide specific information as to both current and past incidents regarding this or any other student due to educational laws and rules. It is our hope that we can continue to work with all families to help their students improve both behaviorally and academically."