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Orlando officer under investigation for arresting elementary school children, police say

ORLANDO, Fla. — An officer with the Orlando Police Department is now under investigation after department officials said he arrested an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old.

School Resource Officer Dennis Turner's supervisors became aware of the incidents during the arresting process, which allegedly violated policy.

One of the children ended up at the Juvenile Detention and Assessment Center. Officials were able to intervene before the 6-year-old child was brought to the center.

Police have not said what the children did wrong for the officer to arrest them.

The incident is under investigation because the officer did not consult a supervisor before making the arrests. Under OPD policy, officers must contact the shift commander before arresting anyone under the age of 12.

Parents told Channel 9 they wondered what a child of that age would have to do to warrant an arrest.

"Without the parent being called in first, it doesn't make sense to me," said Angela Sander. "I can see where the parents need to be called in and explained what's going on, but I don't understand why you would take a 6 or 8-year-old out in handcuffs."

The name of the school where the incident took place has not yet been released.

Orange County Public Schools told Channel 9 the incident didn't happen within one of its schools, leaving only private or charter schools as possibilities.

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Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett, WFTV.com

Reporter Steve Barrett returned to WFTV in mid-2017 after 18 months in the Twin Cities, where he worked as Vice President of Communications for an Artificial Intelligence software firm aligned with IBM.