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He apparently did calm down momentarily, Ten Oever said, but resumed his “bad behaviour” — “he was throwing stuff, breaking stuff, hitting,” the father said — when released from the room. The youngster was then taken to the principal’s office, where, according to his father, he became agitated again.

A number of people were in the office at the time, including the principal, a school therapist and some educational assistants, trying to calm him, the father said.

He says that’s when, as he was told, a police officer who happened to be in the vice-principal’s office next door, came into the principal’s office and proceeded to place the boy’s arms behind his back and handcuff him.

“She took it upon herself to restrain him,” said Ten Oever, who confronted the officer after school authorities informed him of the situation and had him come to get his son.

“Once I found out that she’d been there (in the room) and had restrained him, I got upset. Why is she intervening with my disabled son? She shouldn’t have been part of the meeting (between Daniel and the staff) in the first place. I let her know she wasn’t properly trained to be dealing with my child.

“These kids with autism need special attention. … That’s just the nature of autism.

Both school authorities and the police department declined to comment on the specifics of the incident.

However, police spokesman Const. Marc Soucy explained that “any person that is detained or that is violent or showing signs of violence can be handcuffed to protect that person, to protect the officer, to protect the public.