On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Attorneys File Complaint on Behalf of Third-Grader Arrested, Suspended Under School's Zero Tolerance Policies
Attorneys Sue School and Police Department for False Arrest and Constitutional ViolationsHackensack, N.J.--Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed suit in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Essex County on behalf of Hamadi Alston, a third-grader at Augusta Street School in Irvington, N.J., who was arrested for using an L-shaped piece of paper as a gun in a pretend game of "Cops and Robbers." The complaint was filed against the Irvington Board of Education, its superintendent, the presiding principal of Augusta Street School at the time of the incident, Hamadi's teacher, the school's resource officer and the Irvington police officers who arrested Hamadi. The complaint makes charges of false arrest, malicious prosecution, violations of Hamadi's free speech rights and the unconstitutional application of baseless zero tolerance policies.
On March 15, 2001, 8-year-old Hamadi and his classmates were directed to take advantage of the school's "free time" period, during which students are permitted to speak among themselves, read books and play board games that are available in the classroom. When Hamadi and a fellow student selected a book to read, they found an L-shaped piece of paper contained within it. Using the L-shaped item as a paper gun and exclaiming "Pow, pow!" the boys began playing pretend games of "Cops and Robbers" and "Cowboys and Indians." At no time did the boys threaten to harm each other or anyone else. At the conclusion of their "free time" period, the boys proceeded to their next class, at which point the school's resource officer for interrogation removed the boys from the classroom and took them to the school office for questioning. At no time did school officials contact Hamadi's parents. Upset by the interrogation, Hamadi began crying. When Hamadi's father arrived to pick him up at the end of the day, he found his son crying in the office. When Irvington police officers arrived and asked Mr. Alston to transport his son to the police station, Alston refused. Police officers then arrested Hamadi and charged him with threatening to kill other students. Hamadi was held for 4½ hours before being released into his father's custody; he was suspended from school for one day. After two court appearances, the criminal charges were dismissed by the prosecutor. Hamadi has since been treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The lawsuit contends that Hamadi suffered substantial emotional and mental injuries from being incarcerated and prosecuted without probable cause.
"One can only imagine the horror that Hamadi experienced when he was detained and arrested for playing a harmless childhood game," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "This lawsuit is intended to hold the defendants accountable for the considerable harm they inflicted upon this child and to validate the fact that even young children have a constitutional right not to be arrested and mistreated for engaging in harmless activity."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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