Girl, 12, handcuffed, hauled out of school for scribbling on desk
Alexa Gonzalez gets 8 hours of community service for doodle
February 5, 2010
The GazetteNEW YORK – A New York City middle-school student was arrested and handcuffed for scribbling on her desk, media reports say.
The New York Daily News reports 12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez used a lime-green erasable marker to scribble "Lex was here 2/1/10" on her desk Monday at Junior High School 190 in Queens. She also doodled "I love my friends Abby and Faith" and a smiley face while waiting for her Spanish teacher to hand out homework.
Gonzalez was hauled out of school in handcuffs and taken to the police precinct across the street. Gonzalez's mother, Moraima Tamacho, says her daughter was released several hours after she was brought to a police station.
"I started crying, like, a lot," Gonzalez told the newspaper. "I made two little doodles. ... It could be easily erased. To put handcuffs on me is unnecessary."
While Gonzalez received eight hours of community service for the incident, city officials admit the arrest "shouldn't have happened."
"Even when we're asked to make an arrest, common sense should prevail, and discretion used in deciding whether an arrest or handcuffs are really necessary," police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Gonzalez had to write a book report and an essay on what she's learned from the experience.
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