In some states, your 6-year-old child can be arrested. Advocates want that changed

Kaia Rolle was 6 years old when police arrested her at a Florida school in 2019. The then first-grader was accused of kicking and punching staff members while throwing a tantrum.

A police officer used zip ties to handcuff her. The video of her crying and pleading with a school resource officer not to handcuff her sparked widespread outrage at the time. It also led to changes in state law.

But Kaia is still feeling the effects of that day more than two years later, her grandmother, Meralyn Kirkland, tells NPR. Kaia's in therapy for PTSD, she says. "She also still suffers from separation anxiety."

Kaia's ordeal prompted Florida to set a minimum age for a juvenile's arrest. It was part of a wider police reform bill and says no one under 7 years of age can be arrested, charged or adjudicated unless they've committed a forcible felony. Those felonies are defined by the state.

But there's growing debate in several states about whether the minimum age should be higher, that children behaving badly shouldn't be viewed as criminal.

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1093313589/states-juvenile-minimum-age-arrested-advocates-change