TIVERTON, R.I. – A Rhode Island town has agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a third-grader who said police interrogated her for hours over a false report.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island sued the town of Tiverton in 2015 after the 8-year-old was taken off a school bus and questioned without her parents because another girl falsely reported she had chemicals in her backpack.
The ACLU said Tuesday the town also agreed to new protocol requiring schools to notify the parents and for parents to be present when police question elementary-age children.
Lawyer Amato DeLuca says the protocol will provide children and their families protections against unreasonable and unwarranted searches and seizures.
The town's attorney, Marc DeSisto, says there was no admission of liability.
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