Parents Sue NYPD for $250 Million After Arrest of 7-Year-Old Son

Frances Mendez with her son, Wilson Reyes, Frances Mendez, Wilson Reyes

Frances Mendez with her son, Wilson Reyes

A New York family is suing the New York City Police Department for $250 million after they falsely arrested their 7-year-old son for robbing a classmate of five dollars.

Wilson Reyes, NYPD, Family Sues NYPD

Police handcuffed and interrogated Wilson Reyes after being accused of stealing $5.

Police reportedly took Wilson Reyes into custody for stealing Seth Acevedo’s lunch money and interrogated the boy for hours while he was handcuffed. Now Reyes’ family say they are outraged and that they hired a lawyer to sue the NYPD and the city for mistreating their son.

The claim, filed by family attorney Jack Yankowitz, accuses the NYPD of false imprisonment, physical, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse, and deprivation of Reyes’ constitutional rights.

“Imagine how I felt seeing my son in handcuffs,” Wilson’s mother, Frances Mendez, told the New York Post. “It was horrible. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said.

The money had fallen on the ground in front of Reyes and two other boys and one of them picked it up. Reyes was accused of taking the money.

But the rightful owner of the five dollars, Seth Acevedo, has a different version of events. Acevedo said that the accused boy punched him in the face while he was walking home from P.S. 114 and grabbed the money right out of his pocket.

Seth Acevedo, Wilson Reyes, Family Sues NYPD

Seth Acevedo

Acevedo’s father, Santiago Acevedo, said that his son was often pushed around by Reyes.

“They were always teasing him because of his weight. Sometimes he didn’t even want to go to school because of it,” Santiago Acevedo said.

Some say the way the police treated Reyes was disgraceful, but law-enforcement sources said that he was treated like any other young suspect. Well, whether or not this kid is an angel or a bully, and if he deseved being cuffed like a criminal, he’s learned a real-life lesson on what happens to criminals. I don’t think he’ll be doing any bullying from now on.

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