A nine year old Portland girl was arrested, handcuffed, and hauled off to ADULT jail by bastard cops... following a report of an alleged fight that apparently occurred nearly a week prior!
Police went to seize the young girl from the front yard of her home, following a report of an alleged fight at a Boys & Girls club in New Columbia villa, a suburban-style development located in North Portland. The alleged fight was said to have involved: cursing, punching, yelling, and nothing else. It took place about a week prior and was said to have lasted all of 30 seconds. There was no attempt to contact the girl's parents right away. Only later did the mother, identified as Latoya Harris, find out that her daughter had been kidnapped, taken to the so-called "Justice" Centre in downtown Portland (Central Precinct) - an ADULT jail with no capacity for handling juveniles - fingerprinted and booked. It's also been reported that when the girl was apprehended she was wearing only her bathing suit and a towel. So in addition to wanton kidnapping and child abuse, the horrifying probability of molestation must also be considered. The entire incident, including the arrest/kidnapping, happened in April 2013, but only recently has come to public light due to new attention brought by the girl's mother, as well as an intent to sue.
Latoya Harris, mother of young police abuse victim, seen here.
The two filthy pigs responsible for this unforgivable act of child abuse have been identified as officers Matthew Huspek and David McCarthy, of the Portland Police Gestapo. For her protection, the girl's name has not been released.
There should be special emphasis placed on the fact that this little girl wasn't "arrested" for a suspected crime, but indeed KIDNAPPED. This is due to the fact that she was never read her Miranda rights, nor was she ever charged with any offense. The girl was relinquished to the custody of her mother, Harris, without further incident.
Harris initially filed a formal complaint in 2013 to the city's useless Independent Police Review division (IPR): a toothless civilian "oversight" committee with absolutely NO enforcement capabilities whatsoever. Harris again relayed her grievance at a Citizen Review Committee (CRC) meeting in April 2014. It turns out that since to PPG has no "formal" policy concerning the handcuffing and detainment of small children who've committed no crime, technically, cops Huspek and McCarthy did nothing "wrong" per`say (aggravated kidnapping, child abuse/trauma, possible molestation notwithstanding). Therefore, the only thing IPR director Constantin Severe claims he could do was, mark Harris' complaint as a "service improvement opportunity" (a "teaching moment"), and forward it to supervisors at North Precinct - from which the two pigs in question operate. Afterwhich, Severe dismissed Harris' complaint. North Precinct commander, Führer Mike Leloff, was apparently outraged by even this pissant jester on the IPR's part, and in true cowardly fashion, has refused to provide comment to local media regarding the scandal.
Portland Police Gestapo Minister of Propaganda Pete Simpson said in an April 15th email that he could not give specific comment due to potential "legal action". Simpson did provide a general statement, claiming that while arrests of small tiny children are indeed rare, once someone is arrested, it is standard for that person - baby even - to be cuffed and taken to Central Precinct for booking. However, Joseph Hagedorn, head of Multnomah County's juvenile unit for Metropolitan Public Defender, absolutely contradicted Simpson's statement - calling the arrest "outrageous" and that Portland Police ought to be "embarrassed" by such an incident. Hagedorn went further, stating: "That police maybe could've taken the girl to the county's juvenile detention centre as oppose to an adult facility, and certainly not in handcuffs, given her age". Hagedorn added that juvenile detention would've been "unlikely to accept her", anyways.
Traci Rose, Chief Communications officer for the Boys and Girls clubs of Portland, says that staff might have to call police maybe 3 to 5 times a year, city-wide. Rose also said that the girl was suspended from the club and sent home after the brief fight had ended.
For the record the other girl, another little nine-year old, has never been identified and her race hasn't been confirmed in the media. It is worth noting that the arrested girl is African American, and that fact has raised very concerning issues regarding how Black children are disproportionately treated by police... in every city, not just in Portland. It's also worth noting that prior to her kidnapping, the girl was a straight-A student and in a gifted program. Since her kidnapping, it's been reported that she's been in counseling and has had problems related to trauma. This shouldn't be at all surprising - being arrested for NO reason, handcuffed, perp-walked from your own home, and taken to jail for processing only to never have been charged with a crime - that would be pretty fucking traumatizing for any adult... let alone a nine year old child.
The two pigs who did this to her - officers Matthew Huspek and David McCarthy, must be FIRED EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!
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A follow-up to this story can be read here, as a local defense lawyer attempts to enact a law that would ban police bullies from handcuffing children under 12 years of age.
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