Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Blogs
Blogs

A Chicago Mother Sues School District After They Failed to Punish Guard Who Handcuffed Child for Taking Candy

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

The mother of a 6-year-old elementary student has filed a lawsuit Aug. 11 after Chicago Public Schools failed to adequately punish a security officer who handcuffed her daughter in March.

Atlanta Black Star reported in March that 6-year-old Fernwood Elementary school student, Madisyn Moore, was placed in handcuffs because she allegedly took two pieces of candy from her teacher’s desk.

The school’s security guard held the student under a flight of stairs by the boilers for an hour until the child’s mother, Marlena Wordlaw, came to school.

Since the March incident, CPS fired the security guard but charges has not been brought against the former employee.

According to WLS ABC 7 Chicago, Wordlow filed a lawsuit alleging that the guard used excessive force on the student, false imprisoned her and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

“He was pulling Madisyn from under the stairs with her hands behind her back,” Wordlow tells reporters in the news clip. “I don’t know how long she was under there, but she was sweating. She still had on a jacket. It was warm outside, so I’m trying to figure out why she still had her jacket on.”

Madisyn has been removed from school.

“I would like to know why he hasn’t been prosecuted. This is a battery. This is false imprisonment,” explains Jeffrey Granich, Wordlow’s attorney.

In addition, Wordlow tells ABC 7 Chicago that the district did not help her enroll Madisyn into another elementary school.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top