Six-year-old charged with assault and damage to property after she allegedly knocked over a shelf that injured headteacher

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Police in the US state of Georgia handcuffed a six-year-old girl after she threw a tantrum at school.

Salecia Johnson was accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing books and toys in an outburst on Friday at Creekside elementary school in Milledgeville, according to a police report.

Police said a small shelf thrown by Salecia struck the principal in the leg. The child jumped on a paper shredder and tried to break a glass frame, the report states.

When an officer tried to calm Salecia in the headteacher's office, she resisted, police say. She was "restrained by placing her hands behind her back and handcuffed", the report adds. A juvenile complaint was filed against the girl, accusing her of simple battery and damage to property.

The interim police chief Dray Swicord said it was policy to handcuff people when they were taken to the police station, regardless of their age. "The reason we handcuff detainees is for the safety of themselves as well as the officer," he said on Tuesday.

Salecia's aunt, Candace Ruff, went with the child's mother to pick her up from the police station. She said Salecia had been in a holding cell and complained about the handcuffs.

"She said they were really tight. She said they really hurt her wrists," Ruff said. "She was so shaken up when we went there to pick her up."

Swicord said the girl was taken to the squad room, not a holding cell, and officers there tried to calm her and gave her a Coke.

Salecia was suspended and cannot return to school until August, her mother, Constance Ruff, told WMAZ-TV, which first reported the story.

Her aunt said: "We would not like to see this happen to another child, because it's horrifying. It's devastating.".