Two months after dismissing most counts in a lawsuit that alleges Montgomery County police officers assaulted and handcuffed a 5-year-old boy, a judge has reversed his decision.
The officers had picked up the boy after he walked away from East Silver Spring Elementary School in 2020, screamed at him, berated him, handcuffed him and advised his mother on how to beat him — all captured in police body camera footage.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Richard Jordan’s new ruling means the officers can still be found liable for more than a dozen offenses, and that the case against them can go to trial.
In January, about two years after the incident at the school, Jordan granted a motion for summary judgment from the officers involved, which dismissed nearly all of the allegations in the case, including assault, battery and false imprisonment.
But in the weeks following the ruling, the family’s attorneys filed a motion for reconsideration, and Jordan reversed his decision in March. The order included in court documents provided to Bethesda Beat does not provide the rationale for the decision.
Allegations that the county government should be held responsible for the actions of Officers Kevin Christmon and Dionne Holliday were also dismissed in January. That decision was not overturned, so the county is not a defendant.
In January, a motion for allegations against the school district to be dismissed was denied, so MCPS remains a defendant.
On Jan. 14, 2020, the 5-year-old boy walked away from the elementary school, prompting administrators to call police, who confronted him less than a quarter-mile from the school.
Over the next two hours, as the boy became increasingly upset, the officers called him names such as “little beast” and screamed within inches of his face, mocking his cries, while school district employees watched. The assistant principal, Justine Pfeiffer, can be seen in body camera footage laughing.
Later, after the boy’s mother arrived, the officers encouraged her to “beat” the boy to keep him in line and coached her on how to do it without getting in trouble.
The incident was not disclosed to county or school district leaders until a year later, in January 2021, when Bethesda Beat reported about it, after a lawsuit was filed by the family. The body camera footage showing the incident was released about two months later after formal requests for it by Bethesda Beat, county officials and community advocates.
The case sparked widespread debates throughout the county about the police department’s role in school discipline and interactions with children. It also got attention from international media outlets.
Some county leaders have called on County Executive Marc Elrich and county attorneys to settle the case, rather than challenging it in court.
Elrich has said he’s open to settling the case, as has the family’s attorneys. In past interviews, both sides said they were waiting for the other to make a settlement offer.
Montgomery County Council Member Tom Hucker, who is running against Elrich in the Democratic primary for county executive, has been critical of Elrich, saying he should quickly settle the case.
Hucker has started an online fundraiser for the family that has raised more than $3,000. In the fundraiser’s description, Hucker wrote that because the county government is fighting the lawsuit, “I am fearful that the family will receive little relief at best or have to pay out of pocket for legal expenses at worst.”
The two officers confronted the boy less than a quarter-mile from the school. They were immediately stern with him, according to the body camera video, and became increasingly aggressive as the boy got more upset.
Christmon grabbed the boy’s arm and escorted him into a police car.
At the school, the police told the boy to sit down in a chair. When he hesitated, one officer picked him up and put him in the chair. The boy again became upset and cried as the officers forcefully told him to “shut that noise up.”
When he was seated, Holliday was shown letting out five screams inches from the boy’s face, mocking the 5-year-old’s cries.
“I need to beat on somebody,” she then said, one of several references the officers made to “beating” children or the boy.
After the boy’s mother arrived, the officers brought them both into a conference room. After a brief conversation in which they told the mother she can legally “beat” the child, an officer placed one handcuff around the boy’s wrist and put both of the boy’s hands behind his back.
The family in January 2021 filed a lawsuit against the officers and MCPS alleging assault and battery, false arrest, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional arrest. It also alleged violations of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and negligence against the Montgomery County school board.
After an internal investigation, both officers involved remained employed. The department has said that the officers faced discipline, but has declined to say what it was.
Pfeiffer was placed on administrative leave by MCPS briefly, then assigned to another school. Within weeks, she was reassigned to a position in the school district’s central office after pushback from the new school community.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
