KAIA ROLLE

Many states have no minimum age, but there's a push to raise it to a common international standard of 14. Experts say diversion programs should be provided without the criminalization of children.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Kaia Rolle now has a law named after her. The new law is aimed at preventing the arrest of children 7 years old and younger as part of a much larger police reform bill HB7501. Bodycam video shows Rolle, then 6, crying and begging Orlando police officer Dennis Turner to let her go. Meralyn Kirkland, Kaia’s grandmother, worked with Senator Randolph Bracy on the bill for two years. READ: Records: Fired officer in 6-year-olds’ arrests had been accused of racial profilingThe officer involved in the incident has been fired.

Many in Central Florida are reacting to the news of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a police accountability bill into Florida law.

A key committee in the Florida House moved a police training bill forward Thursday which includes a provision preventing the arrest of children 7 and younger.

According to a Stanford University study published last year, when Black students are disproportionately disciplined, they tend to perform worse on standardized tests and other academic benchmarks. To not only highlight the problem but come up with solutions, News 6 is hosting the Real Talk: A Candid Conversation on Equality in Schools town hall from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sept. 9. Well bring in a panel of experts and invite members of the public to ask questions about how we can make the classroom setting more equal for all its participants. That includes educators acting more patient with white students, telling Black students they arent going to succeed in life and ignoring students of color when they say theyre being discriminated against. Use the form below to submit questions for our Real Talk: A Candid Conversation on Equality in Schools panelists.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A bill that would have prevented arrests of children under the age of 10 failed to be discussed in a key state Senate committee. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the measure is all but dead after failing to be addressed during the Senate Appropriations Committee final meeting this session. The push for the amendment to the state’s criminal justice bill came after the arrest of 6-year-old Kaia Rolle in Orlando. The main supporter of the bill, state Sen. Randolph Bracy is expected to hold a news conference Wednesday.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A Florida senator who filed a bill to prohibit children under 12 from being arrested has announced a compromise with lawmakers that is expected to pave the way for the legislation to pass. On Monday, Bracy held a news conference during which he announced that he had come to an agreement with other lawmakers to amend the bill to apply to children 10 and under. “It was heartbreaking to watch this young 6-year-old girl pleading for help and asking for a second chance as she was being arrested. [RELATED: Orlando grandma wants police to implement change after granddaughter’s arrest | Video shows officer who arrested children repeatedly tasing man]“It is shocking that no existing law prevented this unnecessary response to childhood misbehavior. No 6-year-old should be handcuffed and taken away from school in the back of a police car,” Bracy said.

Florida lawmakers propose bill to prevent young children from being arrestedPublished: March 2, 2020, 12:52 pmA Florida senator who filed a bill to prohibit children under 12 from being arrested has announced a compromise with lawmakers that is expected to pave the way for the legislation to pass.

ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando police sergeant admitted that he couldn’t remember department policy when it came to arresting juveniles last September when a 6-year-old girl was arrested. That sergeant never told the transporting officer not to proceed with the arrest, records show. As a result of failing to follow department procedure, the sergeant was ordered to serve an eight-hour suspension, which he did by forfeiting personal time he had accrued. The transporting officer was not disciplined. After Kaia’s arrest, Orlando police changed policy to require approval to be obtained by a deputy chief before arresting a juvenile younger than 12.

"They're for you," officer Dennis Turner said, as another officer slipped them over the first-grader's wrists. "I knew that what they did was wrong, but I never knew she was begging for help," Meralyn Kirkland, Kaia's grandmother, told the Sentinel. Two burly officers were called in after school officials said Kaia had a tantrum and struck three school workers, prompting a charge of misdemeanor battery, the Sentinel reported. An arrest record said school employee Beverly Stoute wanted to press charges, which the school has denied, the Sentinel reported. Early in his career, Turner was arrested and charged with abusing his 7-year-old son, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Body camera recorded by an Orlando school resource officer shows a distraught, sobbing 6-year-old girl being restrained with zip ties and pleading with the officer as she’s led to a patrol car outside her school. The arresting officer, Dennis Turner, was later fired by the Orlando Police Department following the September arrest of the student. The 6-year-old was arrested after school staff said she had a temper tantrum at school. Body camera video shows school staff questioning the arrest of Kaia and obviously concerned for her wellbeing. The video starts as the school resource officer walks into an office along with the OPD transport officer, where a school staff member is reading a book to the girl.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Central Florida state senator filed a bill to prevent young children from being arrested after national outrage was sparked when two 6-year-old children were arrested last month. The bill would prohibit law enforcement from arresting children under the age of 11. It prohibits the arrest of children younger than 11 years old unless it is a serious crime. Bracy said if the bill passes, Florida would join 23 other states that have similar laws. Kirkland is hoping the bill will get results and prevent this from happening to anyone else.

Instead, she used the money for the party to give back to little girls through her spa. The welcoming atmosphere is meant to make any little girl feel special. One of the little girls Angelica has impacted is 6-year-old Kaia Rolle. "It's making me happy because what they did to me was wrong," the little girl said. "The little girls get to come here from the orphanage, and we pamper them," Delgado said.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A 6-year-old girl who was arrested after a tantrum in class has officially had the misdemeanor battery charge expunged from her record, the child's attorney said. A 6-year-old boy was arrested that same day in an unrelated incident. Dennis Turner, the school resource officer who arrested Kaia and the 6-year-old boy, has since been fired. Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said Turner didn't follow protocol that requires an officer to obtain permission before arresting anyone under 12. Details of the circumstances of the boy's arrest have not been released.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A school employee did not write that she wanted to press charges against a 6-year-old girl who was arrested by an Orlando school resource officer, according to her written statement obtained by News 6 Tuesday. The Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy employee's statement contradicts what the school resource officer wrote in his arrest report for the girl. In the original arrest affidavit for Kaia, Turner wrote Stoute "verbally stated she wanted to press charged and would testify in court." In the written statement, Stoute did not initial the box that reads "I will testify in court and prosecute criminally." We have our own priorities which is closure for the family and justice for Kaia," Smith said.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A day after a school resource officer arrested two 6-year-old children, he returned to work even though an internal affairs investigation had been launched. Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolon said Wednesday that it's now clear department protocols were not followed. The original statements I made were based on the belief that my instructions had been received and followed," Rolon wrote in a statement to the media. An internal affairs investigation was launched on Sept. 19, the same day 6-year-old Kaia Rolle and a 6-year-old boy were arrested at the Orlando charter school on misdemeanor battery charges in unrelated incidents. Rolon said Turner did not follow department policy that requires approval for an officer to arrest anyone younger than 12.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Although there is bodycam video showing a 6-year-old girl being arrested after a temper tantrum at school, Orlando Police Department officials said they can't release it to the public. Wanda Miglio, a spokeswoman for Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon, said student privacy issues prevent the department from releasing video showing Kaia Rolle's arrest at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy on Sept. 19. Miglio wouldn't comment on whether the department reviewed the video before firing school resource officer Dennis Turner or to determine whether school officials wanted the child to be handcuffed. On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Orlando charter school clarified that Stoute is actually a support staffer. [READ: Grandmother outraged over child's arrest | Video shows officer who arrested children repeatedly tasing man]"How do you do that to a 6-year-old child and because she kicked somebody?"

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando academy and a fired school resource officer are at odds about whether school officials wanted to press charges against a 6-year-old girl who was arrested during a temper tantrum. An arrest report for 6-year-old Kaia Rolle provides a brief description of the events that led up to her arrest Thursday at Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy. Officer Dennis Turner wrote in his report that Kaia "battered three staff members by kicking and punching them without permission." We did not ask for either student to be arrested neither did we want to pursue criminal charges," the statement read. Never did anyone within our organization request or direct the School Resource Officer to arrest any student.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The school resource officer with Orlando police who arrested two 6-year-old students last week was fired on Monday. Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon made the announcement during a news conference. "As of this morning, Officer Turner is no longer employed by the police department," Chief Rolon said. The State Attorney's office held a press conference addressing a wide range of questions about charges against Kaia Rolle. "I will never say I understand his actions because I don't, there is nothing personal between me and Officer Turner," Kirkland said.

ORLANDO, Fla. - State Attorney Aramis Ayala says two 6-year-old children who were arrested at an Orlando school will not be prosecuted and officials will do everything possible to remove the arrests from their records. I also want you to know that when it comes to little elementary-aged children, we will not negotiate justice, ever. Both children, a 6-year-old boy and 6-year-old Kaia Rolle, were facing misdemeanor battery charges. They were both cuffed by Officer Dennis Turner, who did not receive necessary permission before taking the children into custody, according to Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon. "On behalf of myself and the entire Orlando Police Department, I apologize to the children involved and their families.

Kirkland said Rolle was acting out in class, a side effect of a lack of sleep from a medical condition, so she was sent to the office. "She has a medical condition that we are working on getting resolved, and he says, ''What medical condition?' "How do you do that to a 6-year-old child and because she kicked somebody?" "A literal mug shot of a 6-year-old girl," she said in disbelief. Orlando Police Department officials said Rolle was one of two children Turner arrested that day, the other was 8 years old.

(CNN) - An Orlando elementary school resource officer has been suspended after arresting two children, both six years old, and accusing them of misdemeanors in two separate incidents. Last week, the officer arrested 6-year-old Kaia Rolle at the Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy in Orlando after she reportedly had a temper tantrum at school. The Orlando Police Department oversees the school resource officer who made the arrest, and they say the situation was not handled properly. The statement also mentions the school resource officer in question also arrested an 6-year-old in a separate incident. "No 6-year-old child should be able to tell somebody that they had handcuffs on them,"Kirkland told News 6.

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orlando police officer has been suspended pending an investigation after he arrested an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old Thursday. Turner has been assigned to the Reserve Officer Program, and his duties have been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolontold News 6. "The first transport officer was not aware an approval was not obtained, and the 8-year-old was processed through the Juvenile Assessment Center. "No 6-year-old child should be able to tell somebody that they had handcuffs on them,"Kirkland told News 6. 'She has a sleep disorder, sleep apnea,' and he says, 'Well, I have sleep apnea, and I don't behave like that,'"Kirkland added.