Lawsuit: Orange sheriff, school board ‘negligent’ after special-needs student involuntarily committed for meltdown

The parents of a student diagnosed with autism say the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and School Board were “negligent” after a 2017 incident where a deputy detained and involuntary committed their daughter following a meltdown at Lovell Elementary School.

In a civil lawsuit filed Nov. 25 in federal court, Roxanne and Brian King claimed it was “unreasonable and unwarranted” for their then 9-year-old daughter, known by the initials “S.K.,” to be committed under Florida’s Baker Act because she wasn’t in danger of harming herself or others.

Their attorney, Kimberly Hosley, said the law specifically excludes developmental disabilities as a basis for involuntary commitment.

Sgt. Chris Greenier, with the sheriff’s professional standards section, exonerated Robert Cline, the master deputy involved in the incident, because Greenier found Cline did not violate the office’s directives or state statutes, according to a 2017 investigation obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

“It was apparent [the girl] was a threat to herself or others,” Greenier wrote.

In an interview with the Sentinel, Brian King called the result of their complaint a “massive betrayal.”

“It’s disappointing,” Roxanne King said. “I honestly still thought, ‘OK, that is just one bad apple.’ But if they’re defending the bad apples, then they’re bad, too.”

Both OCSO and Orange County Public Schools declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Aside from autism, the Kings’ minor daughter is diagnosed with behavioral and emotional disabilities, including separation anxiety and ADHD, according to the lawsuit.

The girl’s separation anxiety would sometimes result in “temper tantrums,” the lawsuit said. Before classes started, her father and a school staff member would walk the girl to an empty classroom where she could “calm down and decompress” for 15 minutes.

If the girl didn’t calm down, her father would take her home, Roxanne King said.

After a doctor changed her medication in March 2017, the girl had several meltdowns at school without injuring herself or others, but during one, she said she wanted to “kill herself,” the lawsuit said.

School staff tried to talk with the girl’s parents about voluntarily Baker Acting her, but her father said he did not want to do that because sometimes his daughter made comments without understanding their significance and the medication change could be affecting her, the lawsuit said.

After stopping the new medication, the girl had another meltdown at school on March 30, 2017, but one teacher told her father she didn’t want him to pick up his daughter because there was a standardized test the girl had to take.

The girl later told her mother she had more anxiety than usual because she was worried failing the test would “ruin her whole life,” Roxanne King said.

Another teacher, Jennifer Rojas, suggested they call a deputy to help the girl “feel safe and calm her down,” the lawsuit said. Brian King was hesitant but he agreed after Rojas said the deputy could not Baker Act the girl without her parents’ consent.

The lawsuit said Cline showed up at the school and ended up physically restraining the girl, who weighed 69 pounds at the time, by grabbing her arms. The sheriff’s investigation, though, determined Cline had not used physical force on the girl but school staff had restrained her to prevent her “violent behavior.”

The restraints by staff left small bruises on her that resembled fingers, Greenier said.

When the girl’s parents got to the school, Roxanne King said a teacher told her that the girl had tried to bite someone and knocked over a desk and chair, but hadn’t hurt anybody. The deputy, though, was “pissed,” she said.

The Kings tried to take their daughter home, but Cline refused to release her, saying he didn’t need their consent to Baker Act the girl.

“He said he had the authority and we were supposed to feel lucky that he wasn’t charging her with felony battery,” Roxanne King said.

Cline took the girl to the former Lakeside Behavioral Health Center around 9:30 a.m., and she was held for hours without seeing her parents until they could visit her that night.

“It was a whole hour of her just begging me and me trying to explain to her that I couldn’t [take her home],” Roxanne King said between tears. “She said it was scary and that everybody was screaming.”

The Kings said their daughter, now 12, had night terrors and increased anxiety after the incident. They worry she will wander or run away, which is common among children with autism, and would be afraid to ask authorities for help if she’s lost.

“She gets nervous around police officers if she sees them,” Roxanne King said. “For the longest time, she couldn’t even see someone in a uniform without shaking. It’s just sad.”

mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com

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