Cop handcuffed and taunted 7-year-old autistic student

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The video from former Statesville Police Officer Michael Fattaleh’s body camera shows him rushing across a classroom toward two women who are sitting with a small boy.

“OK, I’ve got him. He’s mine now,” Fattaleh says. He takes the 7-year-old, autistic child from the women, handcuffs the boy’s arms behind his back and presses him to the floor.
According to the video of the Sept. 11, 2018, incident, the student remains in that position for the next 38 minutes. Sometimes he sits quietly. Other times he sobs in apparent pain or pleads for Fattaleh to let him go..”

The boy’s crime? According to a new lawsuit filed by the child’s mother, identified as A.G., Fattaleh says he saw the special needs student spitting in a “quiet room” at the Pressly Alternative School in Statesville.

The mother’s lawsuit against Fattaleh, the city of Statesville and the Iredell-Statesville Board of Education was filed Friday in federal court in Charlotte.

It accuses the defendants of constitutional violations, negligence, reckless and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery.

Fattaleh was put on administrative leave shortly after the incident and later resigned from the Statesville Police Department. His attorney, Ashley Cannon of Statesville, told the Observer that the State Bureau of Investigation conducted an independent probe of the incident, resulting in no criminal charges.

According to the lawsuit, the school was aware he struggled with changes in location or activities, had difficulty regulating his emotions and experienced deep anxiety. Sometimes he could be physically or verbally aggressive, according to the lawsuit.

That day, the boy had grown agitated by the comings and goings of several students in his class. In response, the boy’s special education teacher and behavioral health specialist cleared the classroom and took L.G. to a safe room to quiet down. It was there that the alleged spitting incident occurred.

Sometimes the officer was solicitous of the boy, asking him on several occasions whether he was OK, patting his back, and getting him a pillow where he could rest his head. Other times, Fattaleh’s tone turned taunting.

“Have you ever heard the term ‘babysitter’?” the officer said while his knees were pressed into the boy’s back forcing him to the floor. “I take that term literally, my friend.”

In another exchange, Fattaleh asks the boy whether he’s ever been charged with a crime.
“No,” L.G. responds.

“Well, you’re fixin' to,” the officer says.

In another instance cited by the lawsuit that is not clear in the redacted version of the video, the boy cries out in pain when Fattaleh twists his body.

My knee. My knee. It really hurts,” the boy shouts out, according to the suit.
Fattaleh responds, “Yeah, it sucks, doesn’t it?”

According to the lawsuit, the boy suffered psychological damage from the incident and has been home-schooled since.

Behavioral issues used to be dealt with by the teacher and the school district by detention or suspending the student. Parents for the most part went along with what the district said was the problem and the solution. Now we have helicopter parenting and snowplow parenting and the lawyers are involved. The school districts are afraid of getting sued and won't back the teachers. The teachers' unions say we won't take the risk of getting involved. So now the go to "solution" is to call the police