Famed Attorney Willie Gary and His Partner CK Hoffler Fight on Behalf of Five-Year-Old Ja’eisha Scott, Who was Handcuffed and Shackled By Police Officers

Monday May 2, 6:22 pm ET
Gary and Hoffler Demand Change from the Pinellas County School District And Police Department in Handling Children
Legal Team Condemn Civil Rights Violations and Police Brutality

STUART, Fla., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominent attorney Willie E. Gary and his partner CK Hoffler of the Florida-based law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson and Sperando P.L., announced today that they represent five-year-old Ja'eisha Scott, who was handcuffed and shackled by the St. Petersburg County Police Department after having a temper tantrum at school. Gary and his legal team plan to expose the blatant cruel and unusual punishment suffered by their client. Gary and his legal team also call for the police department and the Pinellas County School District to undergo significant reform so that no other child will be handcuffed and shackled for behavioral challenges. In fact, Gary and Hoffler intend to appeal to police departments nationwide to address police brutality against children.

"It is truly unfortunate that an incident like this could happen in today's society," said Hoffler. "There is no excuse for handcuffing and placing shackles on a five-year-old child as a means of discipline.

"It is obvious that this young girl is facing some challenges and handcuffing her, placing shackles on her feet and allowing her to remain in a police car for hours, shackled, is not the answer to her problem," continued Hoffler. "In this instance, the punishment does not fit the conduct of the child and, without a doubt, the police used excessive force and violated this child's civil and human rights."

Both national and international civil rights and human rights leaders as well as state and federal legislators have galvanized to address the atrocity of what happened to Ja'eisha Scott.

"This type of oppression forces us to reflect on the values of this country and the civil rights Rosa Parks fought for," said Gary. "We are seeking justice. It's not right and we intend to do something about it. This issue should be of concern to every parent, mother and father in America because if we allow law enforcement to treat a five-year-old child with behavioral issues as if she were a convicted felon, what's next?"

Gary and his firm are no strangers to seeking justice. They are noted for winning a $240 million verdict in a case against the Walt Disney Corporation for his clients who alleged Disney stole their idea for a sports theme park. In 2001, a jury awarded Gary a $139.6 million verdict for the Maris Distributing Company against Anheuser Busch. In addition, Gary was given a half-billion dollar verdict in Jackson, Mississippi, against the Loewen Group, a large Canadian funeral home chain.

SOURCE Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson and Sperando P.L. (Emphasis added.)