Mom of 10-Year-Old Arrested for Peeing In Parking Lot Files $2 Million Lawsuit Against Police

Latonya Eason filed the lawsuit on Wednesday on behalf of her now-11-year-old son Quantavious Eason, who was arrested by the Senatobia Police Department back in August 2023, after the child reportedly decided to relieve himself near her car while she made a quick stop into a lawyer's office.

Per the suit, via NBC News, his family is accusing the City of Senatobia, police chief Richard Chandler, arresting officer Zachary Jenkins and four other unidentified officers of excessive force, intentional infliction of emotional distress, failure to train and supervise, false arrest and malicious prosecution.

"This legal action stems from the distressing incident involving the arrest of a then 10-year-old child for a non-violent act, highlighting crucial concerns about the practices within the Senatobia Police Department," reads a press release from Attorney Carlos E. Moore.

"This lawsuit is not merely a pursuit of justice for Q.E. and the Eason family; it is a call for accountability and systemic change within law enforcement practices. We firmly believe that every individual, regardless of age, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect by those sworn to protect and serve," the release continued, as Moore said he hoped the lawsuit "will shine a light" on concerns related to training, supervision and "the overall culture" of local police.

"It is our firm belief that law enforcement agencies must prioritize the protection of citizens’ rights and well-being, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations such as children,” said Moore, who added the filing "is not an attack on the entire law enforcement community," but instead "a call for reform where needed."

Speaking during a press conference Thursday, Moore also claimed race was a factor in how his client was treated.

"I'm 99.99 percent sure that had this been a young boy who happened to be white ... he would have never been arrested," he said, adding that the boy and his mom "have suffered like no other ... for doing something so commonplace."

During a press conference back in September, Moore said that the child needed to use the bathroom while waiting for his mother. He saw a sign saying there were no public restrooms, however, and "had a decision to make."

"Do I let my bladder stay full and potentially cause bladder problems or do I relieve myself discreetly on private property?" said the family's attorney. "He did what so many young boys have done in this city time and time again, he got near his mother's car with his back facing the public road and he relieved himself."

Though Moore said the child was "thinking as a reasonable 10-year-old" when he decided to relieve himself, an officer driving by stopped and went into the lawyer's office to alert the boy's mother.

"I said, 'You know better, don't let it happen again,'" Eason recalled telling her son after coming out with the officer. "The officer said, 'You handled that like a mom, just make sure he don't do it again, he can get back in the car.'"

But then four other officers from the department showed up, said Eason, claiming they then instructed Quantavious to "put his hands behind his back" before putting him into a patrol car and taking him downtown to the station. "My baby was crying," said Eason, who also snapped a photo of the boy in the backseat.

After being taken to the station, Eason claims authorities then "put this boy in a cage for 45-minutes to an hour" while she spoke with officers about an unrelated matter. The boy was later charged in Youth Court with Child in Need of Supervision. Per Moore, the incident happened on private property and "nobody who owns that property has complained to law enforcement" about the boy's actions.

After the incident went viral thanks to Eason's photo of her son, the police department released two statements on what happened. In the first, they said that while "the child was not handcuffed," they admitted "it was an error in judgment for us to transport the child to the police station" since authorities were able to locate a parent at the scene.

"Mistakes like this are a reminder in this profession as to the continual need for training and refreshers on the various topics that we encounter each day," they added.

About a week later, Chief of Police Richard Chandler released a second statement saying, "The officer's decisions violated our written policy and went against our prior training on how to deal with these situations."

"One of the officers involved is no longer employed, and the others will be disciplined," they added. "We will also have mandatory Juvenile training department-wide, just as we do every year."

During a court hearing back in December, the boy was given three months probation and assigned a two-page book report about Kobe Bryant, the family's attorney Carlos Moore told CNN. Under the terms of the sentence, he would have been required to check in with a probation officer once a month for three months; his mom refused to sign the probation document at the time.

Earlier this month, however, the case was thrown out -- this according to Moore.

"In a significant development, the Carlos Moore Law Group heralds the dismissal of a case against 10-year-old Quantavious Eason by Judge Rusty Harlow, who ruled that Eason is not a child in need of supervision, effectively dismissing the Tate County Youth Court petition against him," Moore said at the time.

"This outcome is not just a victory for Eason and his family, but for juvenile justice advocates everywhere," he added. The boy's mother, LaTonya Eason, also told reporters, "I'm very pleased that they did dismiss what was going on with my baby."