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Ex-Lawrenceburg Officer Convicted of Handcuffing Autistic 3-Year-Old in 'Scared Straight' Scheme
A Sumner County jury found former Lawrenceburg police officer Kyle Hunter Scott guilty of assault and attempted official oppression for handcuffing a crying 3-year-old with autism during a planned 'scared straight' intervention. Scott, 23, faces up to 17 months and 29 days in jail at sentencing next year.
A former Lawrenceburg police officer has been convicted of assault and attempted official oppression after a Sumner County jury found he handcuffed a 3-year-old boy with autism during a so-called 'scared straight' intervention, prosecutors said.
The jury returned the misdemeanor verdicts against Kyle Hunter Scott, 23, after a two-day trial. The convictions carry a maximum sentence of 17 months and 29 days in jail. Judge Dee David Gay is expected to sentence Scott next year.
Prosecutors said video evidence showed Scott, wearing a Lawrenceburg police vest, confronting the crying child, forcing him onto his stomach and handcuffing him while saying, 'Stop resisting.' Scott then carried the boy from the apartment as the child reached for his mother.
According to prosecutors, Scott and his girlfriend planned the intervention with the boy's mother. The child had been diagnosed with autism months earlier.
The Lawrenceburg Police Department fired Scott following the incident, and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services removed the child from the home.
The case has drawn attention to the use of 'scared straight' tactics â a discredited approach that research has shown can be harmful, particularly for young children and those with developmental disabilities. The conviction also raises questions about how a police vest and the authority it implies were used in a domestic setting without departmental sanction.
Scott's sentencing date has not yet been set.