What Does It Take for a Police Officer To Get Fired?
Apparently, lifting a seizing seven-year-old by the throat isn't quite enough.
Allison said her son, who is a special needs student at Stevenson, suffers from seizures that cause him to scream and act much like a 2-year-old throwing a tantrum. He had such a seizure on Dec. 21 and was with the school psychologist waiting for his dad to pick him up and take him home.
Lorraine Allison said the psychologist had her son in a restraining hold, which is common practice.
[Bloomington, Illinois, police officer Scott] Oglesby became involved after he went to the school after hearing of an unrelated incident involving another student.
The school resource officer also was en route.
According to the police report obtained by the Allisons, Oglesby "darted" into the room where the Allison's son was, told the boy he was giving him a headache and then lifted the 65-pound boy by the throat. He "was lifted off the floor so his feet were dangling … his head was close to the ceiling … his face was turning quite red," according to the psychologist's statement to police.
The psychologist left the room and told the school resource officer who then went into the room. Oglesby then grabbed the boy by the arm, lifted him over his shoulder and carried him to the principal's office where, according to one witness, he "threw" the boy into a chair.
The report further states that Oglesby went back into the classroom and said to school staff, "You got any more?"
Oglesby is now on the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services "indicated" child abusers list. But he won't face criminal charges. He was initially on paid leave during the investigation, but has since been reinstated to the force, albeit at a desk job that bars him from interacting with the public. So he didn't miss a day of pay.
MORE: A reader emails this story about another Bloomington cop who was arrested in 2009 by a state trooper for suspected DUI, and for driving 83 in a 45 mph zone. Because the officer refused to take a breath test, McLean County State's Attorney Bill Yoder responded by setting up "no refusal" sobriety checkpoints for all the non-cop motorists, meaning anyone refusing a breath test, as the cop did, would have blood forcibly extracted from their bodies.
The DUI charge against the cop that inspired the crackdown was later dropped. He is also still on the force.
