Black girl, 10, who has ADHD was HANDCUFFED and taken to a police station for drawing an 'offensive' picture of another child who was bullying her 

  • The Hawaii ACLU is demanding police and the state Board of Education adopt new policies after they say a 10-year-old girl's constitutional rights were violated
  • The girl - identified as N.B. - was arrested at her elementary school after she drew an 'offensive sketch' of her alleged bully
  • She was allegedly questioned, detained and taken into custody without the presence of a parent
  • Her mother, Tamara Taylor, was also illegally detained, according to the ACLU
  • Taylor said the incident was 'traumatizing' 
  • Her attorney argued that the entire situation was 'outrageous, but sadly too common and entirely preventable'
The ACLU is demanding the Hawaii DOE (Interim Superintendent Keith T. Hayashi pictured) and the HPD adopt several new policies in wake of the incident

The Hawaii ACLU is demanding change after a 10-year-old Black girl who has ADHD was arrested at her elementary school after she drew an 'offensive sketch' of her alleged bully.

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The girl, identified only as N.B., was reportedly detained and questioned by police at Honowai Elementary School in January 2020 without the presence of a parent.

She was also 'handcuffed with excessive force' and taken to the police station without being charged with a crime, the ACLU alleged in a letter to the Hawaii Police Department (HPD) and the state Department of Education (DOE) that was released Tuesday. 

The letter claimed officials violated N.B.'s constitutional rights and did not accommodate her federally protected disability - which had been documented with the school. 

The girl's mother, Tamara Taylor, was also illegally detained, according to the legal advocacy group. 

According to the ACLU, N.B. was being bullied by another student and allegedly participate in an offensive drawing of that child.

'The next day, a parent of one of the kids who received this drawing, was very upset and essentially demanded that they call the police,' attorney Mateo Caballero, who is representing Taylor and her daughter, told Hawaii News Now.

School staff called Taylor and asked to come to the property because 'they were thinking about calling the police,' the ACLU alleges.

The mother reportedly asked the not to call the cops and headed to the property.

When she arrived, responding officers allegedly told Taylor they were negotiating with the other parent about the situation involving N.B. and that she wasn't allowed to see her daughter.

Once Taylor was released from the room, she learned that officers were taking N.B. to the Pearl City Police station, where she was ultimately released to her mother.

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The ACLU claims N.B. was handcuffed with excessive force that left marks and, after being in custody for nearly four hours, left hungry and exhausted.

The Hawaii ACLU is stepping in after a 10-year-old Black girl who has ADHD was arrested at Honowai Elementary School (pictured) in January 2020 after she drew an 'offensive sketch' of her alleged bully
The claim she was also 'handcuffed with excessive force' and taken to Pearl City Police Station (pictured) without being charged with a crime

Three days after the incident, in a letter to expressing her grievances, Taylor wrote:

'I was stripped of my rights as a parent and my daughter was stripped of her right of protection and representation as a minor. There was no understanding of diversity, African American culture and the presence of police involvement with African-American youth. 

'My daughter and I are traumatized from these events and sure that there is no future for us at Honowai Elementary. I'm disheartened to know that this day will live with [N.B.] as a memory forever.'

The legal advocacy group claims that officers took the 10-year-old into custody because they believed she 'wasn't taking the situation' and 'made a comment wondering what jail would be like'.

'That's just straight up wrong,' ACLU of Hawaii Legal Director Wookie Kim told the news outlet. 'N.B. should have been allowed to be with her parent who was sequestered in another room in the same school at that very time as police officers were interrogating her.'

'And for the consequence to be getting handcuffed because you express yourself in a way that maybe you didn't realize, offended someone or harm someone else that is not the solution.'

Taylor met with police and school officials on several occasions following the incident, however the responding authorities claimed 'they were not able to find sufficient evidence to sustain the complaint'.

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On October 18, 2021, the ACLU, on Taylor's behalf, issued a letter of demands to the HPD and DOE.

The organization stated that they would like the DOE to adopt policies:

  • Forbidding staff to call the police on a student unless the student presents an imminent threat of significant harm to someone;
  • Generally allowing parents or legal guardians access to their children while on school property;
  • Requiring that a parent or legal guardian be present whenever a minor student is being interrogated or questioned about potentially criminal behavior; and
  • Requiring consultation with a school counselor before calling the police, unless there is an emergency situation

They also want HPD to adopt policies:

  • Requiring that a parent or legal guardian be present whenever a minor is interrogated by an officer;
  • Forbidding officers to arrest students in school property unless the student is an imminent threat of significant harm to someone;
  • Forbidding officers from entering school property absent an imminent threat of significant harm to someone; and
  • Requiring that officers issue citations in lieu of arrest for misdemeanors allegedly committed by minors in school property 

'What happened to Ms. Taylor and her daughter that day is outrageous, but sadly too common and entirely preventable,' Caballero said, in a press release, of the letter.

'HPD and DOE had no reason to detain Ms. Taylor and arrest her daughter. That they felt empowered to treat a Black mother and her 10-year-old daughter with no regard for their civil rights and liberties should be troubling to all of us.' 

The Department of the Attorney General said they are 'aware of the letter and will work with the Department of Education to respond.'

The Department of the Corporation Counsel, also addressed in the letter, issued a statement to DailyMail.com saying: 'We are reviewing the ACLU’s demand letter, ascertaining and confirming the facts surrounding the incident at issue, and will be responding in due course.'

The DOE declined to comment at this time. Meanwhile, the HPD did not respond to our request for comment.

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