‘Unreasonable’: School Cop Threw Black 7-Year-Old Boy Into Bookcase, Slammed Him to the Ground, Handcuffed Him After He Misbehaved in Class, Suit Says
The mother of a 7-year-old special needs student has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that a Memphis elementary school resource officer used excessive force when he threw her son into a bookcase, slammed him to the ground and handcuffed him after he acted out in class. Cetera Jones, who is Black, filed the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, on behalf of herself and her son, identified as L.J., in a Tennessee U.S. District Court on Nov. 21. It claims that L.J., whose behavioral outburst on Nov. 24, 2024, was related to his disability, suffered a black eye and was emotionally traumatized during the incident. A civil rights and disability discrimination lawsuit was filed on Nov. 21, 2025, against Memphis-Shelby County Schools and staff at Levi Elementary in Memphis after a 7-year-old boy was allegedly flung against a bookcase, thrown to the floor and handcuffed by a school resource officer. (Photo: Fox13Memphis screenshot) The boy’s teacher and an unnamed school resource officer (SRO) at Levi Elementary School in Memphis used unreasonable force and failed to use crisis interventions and de-escalation tactics appropriate for a disabled second grader with special needs, the complaint contends. ‘This Is Totally Unacceptable’: Black Entrepreneur Says Ameris Bank Flagged and Froze Her Accounts After Teller Questioned Her Business Besides the rough physical treatment that violated his federal civil rights, the school violated state law and the Tennessee Board of Education rules and regulations by “wrenching his arms behind his back” and handcuffing the 7-year-old with metal handcuffs, a mechanical restraint not appropriate for his age, size, and disabilities, or the circumstances, in which the boy posed no imminent risk of harm to others, his attorneys argue. L.J. was put into the back of a “police-like” school SRO vehicle along with his special education teacher, Rhonda Mitchell, and the school principal, Nekia Patton, and driven home, where Jones heard him "screaming in distress," then saw that he was handcuffed and had a black eye that he didn’t have that morning, the lawsuit says. Jones called 911 and Memphis police responded. The lawsuit alleges that the school resource officer and other school staff committed assault and battery and falsely imprisoned L.J., inflicting unnecessary pain, physical injury and emotional harm. It also asserts that Memphis-Shelby County Schools maintained policies and practices that were deliberately indifferent in training and supervision regarding SRO interactions with elementary-age students with disabilities, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, his constitutional rights against unreasonable seizure and excessive force, and state law. Jones and her son seek a jury trial to determine compensatory and punitive damages for his physical injuries, emotional distress, loss of educational access, medical expenses, and other damages. They also seek an injunction from the court requiring Memphis-Shelby County Schools and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office from using mechanical constraints on students receiving special education services and limiting any physical holding restraint to true emergencies involving imminent risk of serious physical harm, and “never to compel compliance or as punishment.” The plaintiffs also want the court to order school resource officers and school staff to train on policies for positive behavioral supports, de-escalation, disability accommodations and trauma-informed practices, and to monitor and report on their SRO uses of force on students with disabilities. A spokesperson for Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in an emailed statement to Atlanta Black Star, “We are aware of the complaint but cannot comment further at this time.” Meanwhile, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office issued a statement that it has been wrongfully named in the lawsuit, as “the Sheriff's Office had no SROs assigned to the school at the time of the alleged incident, nor does it currently have any SROs assigned there. The lawsuit improperly names Sheriff Bonner. The attorney representing the plaintiffs apparently failed to conduct adequate research and has wrongfully implicated the Sheriff. Therefore, the Sheriff is demanding dismissal from the lawsuit and an apology from the attorney involved.” On Nov. 25 the plaintiffs filed a motion for expedited discovery, arguing that they are currently unable to identify certain defendants, including the identity of the school resource officer, and whether he was employed by Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) or the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. They also seek to learn from MSCS, the school administrator who sought and directed the SRO, and for the court to order that any videos, recordings, emails, text messages, incident reports, documents, or electronically stored information related to the incident be preserved. The school system has 30 days after being served, or until Dec. 24, to respond to the discovery request, and until Dec. 12 to file a response to the complaint.
