Police Handcuff Child with Autism on School Bus in North Laurel

Police handcuffed an 11-year-old boy with autism on a Howard County school bus last week, after the boy allegedly bit adults and students while being transported from the Kennedy Krieger Institute, reports The Baltimore Sun.

The bus driver and an aide contacted the police after the boy–who does not talk–broke free from his seat harness and bit at least four people, according to The Sun.

Howard County Police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn told the paper that the officer restrained the boy, "for his own safety and the safety of the others on the bus."

The boy's mother, who lives in Columbia, said she was contacted after the police were called and she wants both the school system and police department to evaluate their protocol for instances involving autistic children, reports The Sun.