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Montgomery County settles lawsuit over police encounter with 5-year-old at school in Silver Spring

Last year, the family of the boy filed a lawsuit against the two officers, the county, and the Montgomery County Board of Education.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County reached a settlement in a lawsuit stemming from an encounter between two police officers and a 5-year-old boy at East Silver Spring Elementary School more than 2.5 years ago. 

On Jan. 14, 2020, the child allegedly wandered away from his school, and two police officers with the Montgomery County Police Department found the child wandering around the residential neighborhood. The police officers drove the boy back to school. 

The department released body-camera footage of the officers engaging with the child, where they were seen screaming in the boy's face, advocating for people "beating their children" and briefly handcuffing the child. In 2021, the boy's family filed a lawsuit against the two officers, the county itself and the Montgomery County Board of Education. The family claimed the child was assaulted and suffered mental anguish during the encounter.

The settlement was paid out by the County's Self-Insurance Fund, with $220,000 paid on behalf of Officers Dionne Holiday and Kevin Christmon, while the other $55,000 is being paid on behalf of the Board of Education. 

As part of the "Release and Settlement of Claim" agreement, the family agreed they could no longer file further claims against the county, and the county assumed the admission of liability with the lawsuit. 

"We are pleased to see that the parties involved in this case reached a settlement," County Executive Marc Elrich said in a media release late Friday. I had been pushing for this for quite some time. This incident has been thoroughly reviewed, including as part of the external audit conducted by Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELE4A), and has led to changes in officer training, incident reporting processes, and clarification of how officers should interact with students in our schools." 

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