City of Senatobia faces potential lawsuit after 10-year-old arrested and charged with urinating in parking lot

SENATOBIA, Miss. (WMC) - A federal lawsuit could be coming to the City of Senatobia after a 10-year-old was jailed and charged after an officer saw him urinating in a parking lot.

Ten-year-old Quantavious Eason’s mother says her son was put in the back of a police vehicle and charged.

The boy’s family and attorney want the arresting officer terminated, among other demands.

“He was like, ‘Yeah, I got to arrest him,” said Quantavious’ mother, LaTonya Eason. “He just can’t do that. He made my son get out the car, told my baby to put his hands behind his back, and they took him to the patrol car.”

LaTonya says on August 10, she and her son Quantavious went to visit a lawyer’s office. According to the family’s attorney, the office was private property.

She says her son waited in the car while she was inside. Eventually, he needed to relieve himself, but the business did not have a public restroom.

So, he relieved himself by his mother’s car in the parking lot, witnessed by a Senatobia police officer.

When LaTonya found out, “I said, ‘Well, you know better, don’t let it happen again,’” she said. “The officer was like, ‘You handled it like a mom, just make sure he doesn’t do it again. He can get back in the car.’”

This is where things went south.

LaTonya says four more officers showed up, including a lieutenant, and after some discussion, her son was put in the back of a police vehicle.

The family’s attorney, Carlos Moore, says Quantavious was charged with “child in need of supervision.”

“They had him put his hands behind his back and they put him in a patrol car and took him to Downtown Senatobia,” said Moore. “He calls it a ‘cage,’ put this boy into a cage for 45 minutes to an hour because he relieved himself on private property.”

Quantavious was released the same day.

“You don’t put my child in a cage, would have put your child in a cage?” said LaTonya. “Would you have put a white child in a cage? If had been a white child, he probably wouldn’t have even stopped. I’m going to fight till the end. I’m going to fight till the end.”

Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler posted to Facebook eleven days later saying one officer is “no longer employed” and others “will be disciplined”.

It’s not clear if the officer who is no longer with the department was terminated or left on their own.

He went on to thank the public for their patience and they are “dedicated to learning from our mistakes.”

But that statement is not good enough for the Easons and Moore.

“My son did not deserve that,” said LaTonya. “Nobody’s kid deserves that. Not only my child, I would feel the same way if that was somebody else’s child. They do not deserve to go through what my child went through. They don’t deserve that. My child don’t give nobody no problems. He’s a kid.”

They want the arresting officer terminated, an apology issued, monetary damages, and the charge against Quantavious dropped.

“We will give the Senatobia two weeks to come to this family and do the right thing and settle this pre-litigation,” said Moore. “Otherwise, the federal lawsuit will be filed, and we will get this family justice come hell or high water.”

Action News 5 reached out to the Senatobia Police Chief by phone and e-mail Wednesday.

We have not heard back.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2023 WMC. All rights reserved.