A seven-year-old interrogated for 10 hours is the center of a huge lawsuit today. Young Wilson Reyes was accused of stealing $5.00 on a school playground after another child dropped the cash, and a third boy picked up and pocketed the money, according to a Jan. 30, 2013 report by New York Post.
The NYPD responded to the scene at PS X114 after receiving a 911 call that claimed the boy had physically attacked another child on the playground and forcibly stole his money. Despite Reyes's youth and innocence, the police allegedly placed the youngster in handcuffs and kept him in a room for four hours then hauled him to the 44th Precinct station house. He was kept there for an additional six hours and ultimately charged with robbery after the seven-year-old was interrogated for 10 hours. Those charges were later dropped.
His mother arrived at the police station, but she wasn't immediately allowed to see her child. When his worried mother was finally permitted to see her son, she found him seated in a chair with his wrist cuffed to the wall. She immediately took a photograph of her son in that position, which will presumably be used in her lawsuit.
A reasonable person would probably agree that it's inappropriate for a seven-year-old to be interrogated for 10 hours, but is the incident really worth $250 million? That's the exorbitant amount being sought in a lawsuit filed against the NYPD and the city. Were the police out of bounds? How much should the family of Wilson Reyes be entitled to for this unfortunate, alleged incident?
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