Mother files $2 million lawsuit after 10-year-old son arrested for public urination

SENATOBIA, Miss. (WMC/Gray News) - A Mississippi mother is suing the city of Senatobia and its police department for $2 million after police put her 10-year-old son in jail for urinating in public.

The federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Oxford division. Named in the suit are the City of Senatobia, Police Chief Richard Chandler, Lt. Zachary Jenkins and four other officers with the Senatobia Police Department.

It seeks monetary damages for excessive use of force, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, WMC reports.

Attorney Carlos Moore represents LaTonya Eason, whose son Quantavious was arrested last August after he urinated next to his mother’s car while she was handling business inside an attorney’s office not far from the Tate County Courthouse.

The 10-year-old boy had been waiting for his mother in the car and said he didn’t see any restrooms nearby when he decided to relieve himself discreetly, as Moore describes it, by the car door.

Eason said the initial officer who spotted her son urinating came and got her, and once she chastised her son, she thought the situation was over. But then four more officers showed up.

Quantavious was arrested, put in a police cruiser, taken to jail and put in a cell for about an hour, according to Moore.

“They have to pay this family for what they did,” Moore said. “This boy is still emotionally traumatized. He is receiving counseling. His mother has been through a lot. So, we’re here for justice.”

Moore claims racism played a part in Quantavious’ arrest, saying a white child would never be put through this experience.

“He’s traumatized,” the boy’s mother said. “It gets to the point where he sees police officers, he just starts shaking. He’s frightened. He’s really traumatized by all this.”

The boy, who is now 11, had to go to youth court twice and was put on probation. The judge ordered him to meet with a probation officer once a month, take random drug tests, follow an 8 p.m. curfew and write a two-page report about Kobe Bryant.

Eason refused to sign the probation agreement, and the judge eventually dismissed her son’s case.

“They’re supposed to protect and serve,” Eason said, “but they’re not.”

She says that’s why she’s suing for millions: to see justice and a change in the judicial system.

“This happened in Mississippi,” Moore said. “This happened in America, and we’re here to say to the City of Senatobia, ‘You have to pay for what you did.’ Senatobia, you can pay me now or you can pay me later. But trust me, you will pay this family.”

Eason says her son has a lot of restless nights. She also told WMC that she didn’t hear from any city leaders or the police chief after his arrest.

After Quantavious’ arrest, Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler issued a statement that said in part, “It was an error in judgment for us to transport the child to the police station since the mother was present at that time as a reasonable alternative. Mistakes like this are a reminder in this profession of the continual need for training.”

A separate statement from the police department said, “The officer’s decisions violated our written policy and went against our prior training on how to deal with these situations.”

WMC can confirm at least one officer was fired after the incident. There has been no public comment from city leaders or the police department about the Eason family’s lawsuit.

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