TAUNTON, Mass. (CN) - The mother of a fifth-grader says the school was wrong to call the cops and seek criminal charges because of a picture her son drew, and a Taunton cop did even worse by faxing a report of the incident to the Boston Herald, complete with her son's name.
Angela Smithson sued the City of Taunton, Mulcahey Middle School teacher Karen Boudreau, and Taunton Police Capt. Edward Walsh in Bristol County Court, alleging negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
Smithson claims her son "drew a picture that Karen deemed offensive," in June 2008. She claims Boudreau violated the school's disciplinary policy because "after reporting the incident to the principal, and before taking any other disciplinary action, Ms. Boudreau reported the incident to the Taunton Police Department and sought criminal charges."
Taunton Police wrote up the incident, "detailing the picture drawn by [her son,]" and though Walsh was not involved in writing the report, he "forwarded the report to the Boston Herald, including the name of the minor," the mom says.
She calls that act "extreme and outrageous."
Smithson is represented by Thomas Flaws of Cambridge.
Follow @@kkoeninger44
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Alaska, Hawaiian Airlines April 17, 2024 -
-
Contributor-Test-Post-2024-04-12 April 12, 2024 -
