Classroom assistant thrown in a cell af ter her pupil wet himself
A TEACHING assistant at a primary school for children with behavioural issues was arrested and charged with neglect after a pupil wet himself, according to a report. The traumatised woman was left in tears after being stripped of her jewellery, belt, shoes and socks and kept in a police cell for hours.
She was accused of locking the child in a ‘timeout room’ and refusing to let him leave to go to the toilet.
But she claims the pupil had demanded to go out to play and deliberately wet himself because he was told he had to do some work first, according to a Police Investigation and Review Commissioner (PIRC) report.
In a formal letter of complaint to Police Scotland the woman, known only as the complainant, asked officers to note her ‘disgust’ at what she had been subjected to. She outlined how she had been led away by female officers holding her arms. After removing various belongings, she was placed in a cell with a number of other people.
She said: ‘By this time I was extremely upset, confused and in tears. There was lots of shouting going on.’
She told how she felt ‘totally humiliated and upset’ about being forced to leave the door ajar while using the toilet.
A report of a complaint handling review said the woman was detained under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act for cruelty to a person under the age of 16.
She was then cautioned and charged but, according to her, no proceedings were taken by the procurator fiscal.
In her complaint she questioned why police did not interview other members of staff who had experienced the same behaviour from the boy. She said she knew of two who had been supervising the child when similar incidents happened and told officers he had admitted to his class teacher that he had urinated deliberately.
The incident happened on November 18, 2014, but it was not until two months later, after voluntarily walking into the police station, that the teaching assistant was detained. In her letter of complaint she said a police i nterview had been scheduled by a lawyer arranged for her by her union.
She said: ‘Despite the interview having been arranged with my lawyer for 2.30pm, I was left in the holding cell for hours.’
The teaching assistant complained about five aspects of her treatment. Yesterday, in a report published by PIRC, the superintendent looking into the complaint stated: ‘ Whilst I understand that, being a person who had not previously come to the adverse attention of the Police, the whole process must have been and still is very difficult for you to come to terms with, unfortunately the fact remains that there was a sufficiency of evidence to charge you with the offence libelled.’
The assistant received an apology for officers not taking a full statement from a teacher and a detective constable was given ‘corrective advice’ about how to explain procedures.
It was recommended that ‘ Police Scotland reassesses whether it was necessary to detain’ her.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘ We note the findings… including that two of the complaints have already been dealt with. We will consider the remaining three findings and make the further responses in due course.’
‘Very difficult for you’