Playground tussle leads to $250 million lawsuit

NEW YORK (KGO) -- A mother is suing the city of New York and its police department for $250 millions after arresting her seven year old son and keeping him in handcuffs for hours.

The lawsuit claims police had the boy in custody for 10 hours following a playground fight over $5 back in early December.

When the boy's mother arrived at the precinct, her son was panicked and cuffed to the wall. The suit claims the boy suffered multiple bodily injuries, and emotional and psychological damage.

Jack Yankowitz, the family's attorney say authorities went too far. "Officers from the 44th precinct going by him, repeatedly yelling at him 'he's a a thief,' saying 'we're going to put you away with the big boys,' these are the kind of comments these police officers made to a 7-year-old."

A spokesperson for the NYPD says officers followed proper arrest protocol, and the 7-year-old's lawyer is exaggerating the length of time the boy was held.

The charges were eventually dropped when it was determined the boy never took the $5.

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