School administrators are increasingly relying on law enforcement to keep students in line, and the results can be dire.

Take the case of Michael Davis, a five-year-old student with disabilities in the Stockton Unified School District.  A senior police officer in the school district’s police department decided to “scare him straight” after Michael acted out in his classroom, and the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

When Michael got upset and could not calm down, the officer zip-tied Michael’s hands and feet and took him to a mental health facility. Michael’s family filed a lawsuit, and the police officer was finally dismissed from the department four years later, shortly after the family settled with the district for $125,000.

…Police officers are ineffective substitutes for counselors or other adults trained to work with young people who need guidance more than harsh discipline. 

…Many schools have called the police to enforce minor violations like “disruption,” “disturbing the peace,” vandalism, tardiness, and inappropriate use of electronic devices — hardly criminal offenses.

…In the San Bernardino Unified School District, for example, campus officers arrested around 30,000 students between 2005 and 2014, mostly for minor infractions like tagging and disobeying curfews.

…These policies disproportionately target students of color and young people with disabilities, unnecessarily feeding them into the criminal justice system. Black students are three times as likely as white students to face school-related arrest. Students with disabilities are three times as likely as students without disabilities to be arrested on campus.

Since When Did Police Officers Replace the Principal’s Office? | American Civil Liberties Union

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That’s our f’ing future we are warping and destroying!!!!