According to Ronnie Shepperd, his son, who he says is autistic, was arrested and put into handcuffs in the Hoosier State's Needham Elementary School for defending himself against kids who hit him during recess, local station WRTV reported.
"Another student was bullying my son several times," Shepperd told WRTV. "He actually told the principal and a lot of staff members here who are in charge of recess about the bullying and they didn't take no steps to make it safe."
Shepperd filmed the entire scene as officers slapped cuffs on his crying child and whisked the boy away in a police cruiser.
"He's watched the video several times. He still talks about it," Shepperd told the station. "He's pretty traumatized over the whole ordeal. Any nine-year-old that's being arrested, they don't know what's going on."
Throughout the duration of the arrest, school officials chose to put the area on lockdown in order to make sure all students were accounted for and "safe while police were there," the Daily Journal reported.
Officers took Shepperd's son to the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center for roughly 20 minutes before he was released. The child was charged with battery and criminal mischief; however, both charges were later dropped, according to ABC 7.
Though the incident happened a few months back, Shepperd told reporters he chose to share the footage on social media Monday so parents could be aware of what's happening in the schools their children attend.
In response to the release, the police department issued their own statement, noting they were aware that the footage was published and that "the Franklin Police Department stands behind these officers and the decisions that were made on this day."
Speaking to WRTV, David Clendining, the superintendent for the Franklin School District, stated that police are called to schools whenever there is an issue that might spark a safety concern.
