New York, August 18: In a bizarre incident, a 10-year-old boy was arrested and jailed for a brief time for public urination in Mississippi. The incident occurred on August 10 when the boy chose to relieve himself behind his mother's car. Latonya Eason, the mother of the boy, told WHBQ-TV that while she was at an attorney's office in Senatobia, located just south of Memphis, a police officer entered and informed her that he had apprehended her son urinating behind her car.

According to a New York Post report, Eason recounted that she asked her son, Quantavious, the reason for peeing behind the car, to which he replied that his sister had informed him there was no available bathroom indoors. She told him that he should have known better and should have consulted her regarding the availability of a bathroom.

At that point, the officer told her that "Since you handled it like a mom, then he can just get back in the car," she told the station, adding that the officer said he was going to give Quantavious a court referral. Eason believed that the situation had been resolved, but subsequently, additional police officers arrived on the scene, leading to growing worry among the family. The woman further alleged that a lieutenant told the family that the boy had to go to jail for urinating in public.

The report said that the boy was charged with the child in need of services. In a lengthy statement, Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler stated the state's Youth Court Act, which grants law enforcement the authority to issue referrals against children as young as seven years old if they require supervision or from the age of 10 if they engage in actions that would be considered illegal for an adult.

However, the police department apologised for taking the child to the police station. “It was an error in judgement for us to transport the child to the police station since the mother was present at that time as a reasonable alternative,” the statement read.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2023 09:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).