Teenager ‘traumatized’ after court field trip ends in handcuffs and prison garb

The incident occurred on Tuesday when the nonprofit organization The Greening of Detroit took a group of youth on a field trip to the 36th District Court. According to local ABC affiliate WXYZJudge Kenneth King was speaking to the group before the defense or prosecution entered the courtroom when he noticed the teenager falling asleep.

“If you fall asleep in my courtroom again, I'll put you in the back, got it?” he can be heard saying to her on a video from the courtroom. According to local reports, King then had the girl removed from the courtroom. When that didn't improve her alleged “attitude,” he brought out the prison uniform and handcuffs.

“It wasn't actually so much that she fell asleep, because I have lawyers who fall asleep sometimes, so it's not a big deal,” King said of his behavior. “It was her whole demeanor and her whole being that bothered me.”

“I wanted to get through to her, show her how serious this is and how to conduct yourself in a courtroom,” he continued, saying he had “not been treated with such disrespect in a long time.”

He then threatened to put her in juvenile detention, but admitted to WXYZ that he “probably” wouldn't have actually done that.

“Could I have done that? Probably. But that's not what I want to do to a kid that's there on a field trip,” he said. “Do I think I was being rough with what I did? No, I don't think so. Because I'm going to do whatever needs to be done to reach those kids and make sure they don't end up in front of me.”

King – who said he also spoke to the teenager's parents – also called the stunt his “own version of Scared Straight.”

In a follow-up interview with the same networkThe teen's mother said they have since removed her from the Greening of Detroit program and declined the judge's offer to serve as her mentor.

“Would you want someone to treat your child like that? Would you even treat your child like that if he fell asleep in the courtroom?” the girl's mother said tearfully, then explained that the family currently has no permanent residence.

“He talked about you going home and going to your bed. How do you know my baby has a home? How do you know my baby has a bed, her own bed to sleep in? She doesn't have that right now. So she was tired,” her mother said.

“You didn't scare anyone. You upset a parent. You scared my child,” she added, saying her daughter gets good grades and never causes her any problems.

The Greening of Detroit also released a statement condemning King's behavior.

“A group of minors visited Judge Kenneth King's courtroom in Detroit's 36th District Court today as part of a field trip. It is unfortunate that he chose to make an example of a 15-year-old girl in front of her classmates. He forced her to wear handcuffs and a prison uniform and yelled at her for falling asleep in his courtroom,” they said.

“Although the judge attempted to teach a lesson in respect, his methods were unacceptable. The group of students should have simply been asked to leave the courtroom if he deemed them disrespectful,” the statement continued. “We have spoken to the student and her parents and the young lady was traumatized by the unnecessary disciplinary action and verbal abuse by the judge.”