SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The city of San Mateo, Calif., has agreed to a $55,000 settlement in the case of a 7-year-old boy pepper-sprayed by a police officer, officials said.
The family of a special education student enrolled at George Hall School also sued two county agencies and the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District over the June 2010 incident, the Bay Area News Group reported.
The boy, who suffers from behavioral disabilities including anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, was sprayed in the face by Officer Randy Heald, who was called to the school after the boy threw chairs and climbed on top of a cabinet, officials said.
City Attorney Shawn Mason said Heald used pepper spray because he was concerned for the safety of the child, perched 8 feet off the ground.
Joseph Wiseman, an attorney with the National Police Accountability Project, called the city's explanation "ridiculous."
"If the officer was concerned about the kid falling, he wouldn't have pepper-sprayed him," Wiseman said. "It doesn't make any sense to me."
