Mom Awarded $275,000 by Cops in Montgomery County Who Berated Her 5-Year-Old Son

Following a lengthy investigation, a Maryland mom was awarded $275,000 on behalf of two cops in Montgomery County who yelled and berated her 5-year-old son in an incident in school.

Officers Dionne Holliday and Kevin Christmon settled with the mom, Shanta Grant, over how they handled her son when he got upset in class and left school. Part of the payment to the Grant family will be drawn from the Montgomery County Police's Self-Insurance Fund and the other half will come from the local Board of Education.

County Executive Marc Elrich confirmed the settlement after a thorough audit of the officers' conduct by Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELE4A). The evidence of their actions against the boy was documented in their body camera footage, per the Washington Post.

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Kindergartener profiled like a criminal

Reports cited that Holliday and Christmon responded to a call to the East Silver Spring Elementary School in January 2020 after the boy left school when he got upset in class and threw a clipboard at his teacher. They found him a few distances away from the school and was defiant when he refused to go back to the classroom.

The video from the bodycam showed that the cops berated the child and grabbed him by the arm when he kept saying he didn't want to go back. They also handcuffed him and screamed at his face to stop crying. The cops were also heard calling the child a "little beast" and a bad boy. One of the cops also uttered, "I hope your momma let me beat you," per Daily Mail.

During the ELE4A investigation, Christmon justified their actions because the child was "defiant and headstrong." Holliday, on the other hand, cannot recall the words they said to the kindergartener until the video from the bodycam was released.

Matthew Bennett and James Papirmeister, the mother's lawyers, believe that the handling of the situation was beyond child abuse as he was profiled like a criminal. Later, Grant was also seen in the video reprimanding her son without beating or yelling.

The school district issued a statement condemning the actions of the cops. Local councilors also called out the brutality and the degradation of the child.

Grant wanted a jury trial prior to settlement negotiations

In January 2021, Grant officially filed a lawsuit against Holliday and Christmon, the school district, and the county, for infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, negligence false imprisonment and violation of rights. In response, the cops admitted to their actions but then made it clear that the situation documented in their body cam video was not the "complete and accurate depiction of the events," per Bethesda Magazine.

The school board also filed their own response, stating that their staff members were not negligent, especially when the boy left school. In fact, the assistant principal Justine Pfeiffer followed the boy and waited for the police to assist.

The school officials also said that it was standard procedure to call the police when a student leaves their premises without permission. They could have not foreseen what would take place when the cops arrived.

Meanwhile, the Grant family originally wanted a jury trial but none was scheduled as a negotiation into the settlement was underway. They also originally asked for $200,000 in damages. According to the mom, the money awarded to her will go into her son's trust fund for his use as an adult.

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