Attorney: Special needs boy, 7, gets placed in cuffs, tasered, and sent to behavioral health facility without parent’s approval

The family of a 7-year-old special needs boy says that an outburst in his Texas classroom landed him in handcuffs last Tuesday and at a behavioral health facility without their knowledge or approval. He wasn’t released from the facility until Monday.

CBS DFW reports that April Obin, the mother of first-grader, Yosio Lopez, said that her son has ADHD, a behavioral disorder marked by impulsiveness, outbursts, and issues with staying focused on tasks. The boy has a tendency to disrupt his classroom but has counselors on hand to help him cope.

On May 9, the student reportedly had a violent outburst at Gabe P Allen Elementary in Dallas and began banging his head on the wall. The incident occurred during the standardized testing week, at a time when counselors weren’t available to help.

The family’s lawyer, Amar Dhillon, said that the school called the Dallas Independent School District Police Department (DISD) before giving the boy’s mother a chance to arrive and help her son.

“Before she could get to the school, the DISD police department was called, and handcuffed the child and took him away.”

Dhillon said that not only did police handcuff Yosio, but they also used a taser on him, hit him in the legs with a baton, and sent him to a mental health facility without informing his parents.

“The boy did vividly describe being shocked and his body convulsing… and he was very clear about that.”

Yosio’s grandmother, grandmother, Eva Alejandro, told NBC 5 that her grandson said that the police used a “police taser tag” on him.

“He said, ‘The police laser tagged me at school,’ and he says, ‘My body did this real, real bad,’ and he goes, ‘By the time you knew it I had those handcuffs on my back.'”

Odis is demanding answers from the school and hired Dhillon to help her. She claimed that the boy spent nearly a week in the mental health facility before being released on Monday.

The school district declined to comment on the issue due to privacy laws.

The story is still developing. Check back with Crime Online as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Google Maps/July 2015]