Oops, Sorry for Arresting and Handcuffing You
Nick Koudis
A Dallas high school student was wrongly arrested.
Human error is being blamed for the wrongful arrest of a Dallas high school student.
On Monday, 15-year-old Kalyn Scott was arrested at Molina High School, handcuffed and held for truancy.
"It was very scary, and I was very shocked," she said. "I mean, all of my friends were looking at me wrong, like I did something bad, when I know I haven't."
There was only one problem: The arresting office had the wrong student. Officers were actually looking for a teenage boy, not a girl.
The students' names are also spelled differently, their birthdays are different, and the student identification number on the warrant does not match Scott's.
The office of Dallas County Constable Jaime Cortes admitted Friday to arresting the wrong student and issued an apology.
"I apologize profusely to the young lady and the family that incident occurred that way," Cortes said. "We are looking into putting more checks and balances so it doesn't happen again."
Scott's mother has hired an attorney to pursue possible legal action.
Sandra Guerrero, of the Dallas Independent School District, said the district is conducting a complete review of the arrest.
