Parents of a young boy with ADHD filed a lawsuit against their son’s school district after the child was placed in a chokehold and arrested following an outburst.

Ashley Hutchinson-Harper and Terry Harper, the boy’s parents, filed the lawsuit May 9. It comes one year after the child, identified only as J.H., feared for his life after police aggressively detained him amid a disturbance he was causing at Congetta Trippe Janet Elementary School in Marrero, Louisiana, The Washington Post reported.

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The boy with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder had reportedly hit a principal, stormed out of the school, and threw a trashcan by the time cops arrived. The lawsuit accuses police of yanking J.H.’s arm and pulling it behind his back before placing the child in a chokehold after he tried pulling his arm back.

Now the child’s parents are suing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson Parish School Board for unspecified damages and asking a judge to bar school officials and law enforcement officers from using physical restraints against students.

The Harpers believe the responding deputies violated the child’s civil rights and failed to abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act during the May 13, 2021, encounter, NBC News reported.

The suit accuses Sgt. Steven Trapani of being aggressive with the child who was just 95 pounds and 4 feet, 5 inches tall at the time of the incident. J.H. was dragged on the ground while still in the chokehold, causing him to be “fearful for his life,” the suit claims.

Source: Parents Sue School District and Police After 10-Year-Old With ADHD Put in Chokehold, Arrested

The Louisiana elementary student believed he was going to be killed by the officers, further elevating his anxiety, the lawsuit alleges.

Atlanta Black Star obtained the federal lawsuit filed Monday, May 9, by Ashley Hutchinson-Harper and Terry Harper on behalf of their son (whose name is being withheld because he is a minor) against the Jefferson Parish School Board and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

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The claim is in response to an incident on May 13, 2021, when the parents say their child, only identified as J.H., was bullied in the Congetta Trippe Janet Elementary School, triggering his disorder to an unmanageable degree.

The Harpers believe both parties violated their son’s civil rights and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

J.H. was diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Mood Disorder, and Emotional Outburst, the claim says.

The lawsuit claims on the day in question the fifth grader got into a violent altercation with classmates, adults, and ultimately a Jefferson Parish deputy in response to being bullied by another student and being blamed as a disruptor in the class by his teacher.

The couple is seeking injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and damages from both defendants.

While in class on May, 13, 2021, the filing claims, J.H. was being bullied, bothered, and taunted by another student. It further states the teacher allowed it “to escalate to the point where J.H. began breathing heavily and yelling because he was so frustrated and angry.”

Source: Louisiana Parents File Lawsuit Against Jefferson Parish School District and Police After Their 10-Year-Old Son with ADHD Was Held In Chokehold and Jailed Following Outburst