Girl, 16, Put in Handcuffs and Jail Uniform After Falling Asleep During Courtroom Field Trip
The 16-year-old girl was visiting the 36th District Court in Detroit on Aug. 14 when she dozed off in the courtroom of Judge Kenneth King
Todd McInturf /Detroit News via AP; Paul Sancya/AP
Judge Kenneth King, left, and the 36th District Court building in Detroit, rightA Michigan judge is defending his actions after he had a teenager placed in handcuffs and a jail uniform after she was caught sleeping in his courtroom during a summer field trip
Judge Kenneth King also allegedly threatened the teen with time in a juvenile detention facility after taking issue with her "attitude" on Aug. 14
The teen was allegedly “traumatized by the Judge’s unnecessary disciplinary treatment and scolding," according to the nonprofit that hosted the field trip
A Michigan judge allegedly had a teenager placed in handcuffs and don a jail uniform after falling asleep while visiting a local court.
The 16-year-old girl was visiting the 36th District Court in Detroit as part of a field trip on Wednesday, Aug. 14, when she dozed off in the courtroom of Judge Kenneth King, said a spokesperson for The Greening of Detroit in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
The nonprofit organization hosted the field trip to help teach young people about the legal system, according to ABC affiliate WXYZ. The kids were there to see a real trial in action and speak to a judge in person when the incident occurred.
“Would you want someone to treat your child like that?” Latoreya Hill, the mother of the teen, told WXYZ after the incident. “Would you even treat your child like that?”
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The judge "made her wear handcuffs and a jail uniform and yelled at her for falling asleep in his courtroom," according to the spokesperson for The Greening of Detroit.
"You fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I’m gonna put you in back, understood?" King said, per WXYZ. He also said at one point, “You sleep in bed at your home, not at court."
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In a video that has since been removed from YouTube, King also threatened to send the teen to a juvenile detention facility "as a lesson,” according to the Detroit Free Press. The judge had the teen’s peers vote on whether that should be her fate, but ultimately let her go, WXYZ reported.
“Was I really going to do that? Probably not. Could I have? Probably so,” King told the station. “But that's not what I want to do to a kid who's there on a field trip.”
The Greening of Detroit spokesperson said that “it is unfortunate” that King “chose to make an example of a 16-year-old girl in front of her peers. Although the Judge was trying to teach a lesson of respect, his methods were unacceptable,” they added.
The teen involved in the incident and her parents told The Greening of Detroit that she “was traumatized by the Judge’s unnecessary disciplinary treatment and scolding," the spokesperson added.
“The group of students should have been simply asked to leave the courtroom if he thought they were disrespectful,” the spokesperson explained.
Additionally, Hill told WXYZ that she and her family, including the teen, currently do not have a permanent residence. “How do you know my baby got a home? How do you know my baby got a bed, her own bed she could sleep in?” the mom said. “She don’t have that right now, so she was tired.
But King defended his actions, claiming he was “disturbed” by the teen’s “attitude” and “disposition” in the courtroom that day. “I felt compelled to do it because I didn't like the child's attitude," the judge explained. "I haven't been disrespected like that in a very long time.”
King also told WXYZ he does not believe he was “heavy handed” with the teen. “I'll do whatever it needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don't end up in front of me,” he said.
The teen’s mom has since removed her daughter from the summer program that hosted the field trip, according to WXYZ.
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