Toronto police are defending their decision to handcuff a child with special needs after he reportedly threw a tantrum at his day care last July.
"Obviously we don't want to handcuff a child, but in this situation it was the best thing to do," Const. Victor Kwong told CTVNews.ca.
Late last July, Toronto police received two separate calls indicating that an "uncontrollable" autistic boy was flipping tables and chairs at Fairbank Memorial Daycare Centre near Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West.
Media reports have identified the child as 9-years old. Toronto Police, however, couldn't immediately verify this.
Kwong said officers arrived at the day care to find that the young boy had barricaded himself in a separate room using tables and chairs. Paint was strewn across the facility, he added.
After deeming the boy a threat to himself and others, Kwong said officers pushed themselves into the room and handcuffed the boy.
"We decided that restraining him was what we were going to do," said Kwong, explaining the decision to control the child with handcuffs rather than physical force.
The fact that the boy had the autism spectrum disorder Aspergers Syndrome influenced the decision, Kwong added.
"We could have physically gone in, but at what point does it become a fight with a child?" he said.
According to the Aspergers Society of Ontario, people with the disorder may have difficultly reading non-verbal or social cues.
Police said the boy spent five minutes in a pair of adult handcuffs, during which he remained still and calmly spoke to officers about his hobbies.
"He left giving the officers a hug and a handshake," said Kwong.
After the incident, Kwong said it was revealed that the boy was upset because other children at the day care were making fun of him.
"Our primary concern is safety for everyone, including himself, despite any disability," said Kwong, pointing out that there is no policy against handcuffing a child.
Fairbank Memorial Daycare Centre is a non-profit operation based out of a Toronto school which serves children who are 6-months to 12-years old.
