8-Year-Old Child With Special Needs Faces Felony Charges
Police reports allege that an 8-year-old Allegan County boy destroyed the rear camera located inside the back of a police patrol car while being transported to school. As a result, Edward Hart has now been charged with malicious destruction of police property and resisting and obstructing. Both charges are felonies. Hart is a special needs child.
On March 19th, Hart ran away from the Hillside Learning and Behavior Center in Allegan where he attends school. According to his step-father, Robert Bluhm, he has run away from school on several occasions in the past. He has never gotten as far away as he did last March 19th.
According to reports, a teacher and the principal both chased after the boy, but it was a third teacher who finally caught up with him at a party store a block away from M-40. The police were called to assist and were asked by school staff to escort Hart back to the school. Police reports state that when the officer asked Hart for his name, the boy cursed at him and assaulted the officer.
“He has special needs. He has anger issues.” said Bluhm, “They know this, and they’re going to throw him in the back of a cop car all by himself! When I called the school to ask questions, like why nobody rode with a minor child to the school instead of just throwing him in the back of a cop car, they had no answers for me!”
Police have said that their only aim had been to get Hart’s parents to compensate the department for the cost of the damaged camera, which totals $50. Police say that they never expected the case to progress to felony juvenile charges, but that Hart’s mother had been told of the pending charges.
Prosecutors have said they stand by their decision to charge Hart, but that he will first have to go for counseling before a court can determine whether or not the charges will stand. Chief Rick Hoyer of the Allegan City Police Department has said that he disagrees with the decision to formally charge the child.