MILLEDGEVILLE, GA -- Police in Georgia said they had to resort to handcuffs to control an unruly kindergartner.
The school called police after the girl threw a tantrum...and the police chief is making no apologies.
Gannett television station WMAZ-TV reports the 6-year-old is accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing furniture at school in the central Georgia city of Milledgeville. The police report says the girl knocked over a shelf that injured the principal.
The elementary school called police after the Friday tantrum. The report says when an officer tried to calm the child, she resisted and was handcuffed. The girl was charged with simple assault and damage to property.
Police Chief Dray Swicord says the department's policy is to handcuff people in certain situations, and "there is no age discrimination on that rule."
The child was suspended from school until August.
WFMY News 2 asked Guilford County School officials about their protocol for an unruly child.
According to GCS officials, the first thing a teacher should do is bring in a third party, like an assistant already in the classroom or a nearby classroom, a school counselor the principal from the main office
In rare cases, staff can call in a school resource officer from a nearby junior or senior high school.
"All options that we have and that we can exercise within our school and within our county are used appropriately," said Vandalia Elementary School First Grade Teacher Ashley Heath.
Heath said she encounters an out-of-control child about two or three times a year.
According to Heath, the priority is always to keep students safe and focused on learning.
WMAZ