Autistic Student Plays With "Imaginary Rifle" at School, Their Response has Parents Furious
An autistic fifth grade student at Conroe Independent School District in Texas was arrested and hauled away after pointing an “imaginary rifle” at his art teacher.
Apparently, the teacher felt this was a legitimate threat and immediately reported the incident to the authorities.
The student, David Sims, said, “She (CISD Police Officer) just put handcuffs on me and told me I need to go with her.”
“They just said, ‘We don’t tolerate that. We take it as a threat.’ A threat? He didn’t threaten anyone. He didn’t do anything but play,” said Amy Sims, David’s mother.
Amy Sims says she wasn’t notified of the classroom incident until after her son was in custody. Like many students challenged with autism, Amy says her son simply didn’t understand “make believe” gunplay on campus has become inappropriate behavior.
“Being put in handcuffs, not knowing what he did wrong, I could have had a talk with him and told him look, I know you like to play guns, but you can’t do it in school,” said Amy Sims.
David spent two hours and eleven minutes at the Juvenile Detention Center. Montgomery County Attorney J.D. Lambright says given his age and disability it’s likely criminal charges can be avoided.
Lambright went on to say that Sims’ rifle incident was preceded by an actual threat of physical violence and that this wasn’t the first time an incident like this has happened.
Amy Sims believes the school is discriminating against her son because of his mental disability, assuming that since he has issues, that makes him more susceptible to extreme acts of violence, like a mass shooting.
Conroe ISD has informed the Sims family they must send their son to an alternative disciplinary school for the rest of the Spring semester.
So where exactly do schools these days draw the line? Are kids still allowed to play “cops and robbers” on the playground? An imaginary gun is not equivalent to the real deal. It’s unbelievable that such a statement needs to be made, but welcome to the 21st century.
Source: Fox 26 Houston
