A Tennessee couple is suing Sumner County for $500,000 after their 8-year-old autistic son was put in a straight jacket and arrested after an outburst at school.

Colton Granito, who is on the autism spectrum, had a meltdown at school last February, when he hit his teacher. Instead of following the crisis management plan that was in place, the school called the police. Colton, 8, was arrested and charged with assault. He was placed in a jail cell.

Colton is now 9-years-old and attending a different school, and his parents are suing the county for $500,000.

There's two sides to every story, of course. The police refused to comment because they said that they haven't been served with a lawsuit yet.

However, as the parent of an 8-year-old with high-functioning autism, I can't help but wonder...handcuffs? A straight jacket? JAIL?? Are you kidding me? It's not like he brought a weapon to school. Of course, physical violence is not appropriate. But this seems wayyyyy over the top to me. I tend to think that people are sue-happy in this country, but to me, this lawsuit seems legit. What do you think?

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