A Black middle school student in Virginia was handcuffed and charged with larceny after being accused of stealing milk, news outlets reported Monday.
Ryan Turk is on the school’s lunch program and is allowed to drink the milk for free. But Ryan’s mother, Shamise Turk, described how when her son went back in the lunch line to get his milk, a county police officer came up to him and accused him of stealing it.
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According to local news reports, the officer handcuffed Ryan because he was "acting disorderly." Ryan said he pulled back when the police attempted to grab him.
"I yanked away from him. I told him to get off of me because he's not my dad,” Ryan told news outlet Boing Boing.
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The school has now suspended him for theft, being disrespectful and using his cell phone on the premises. His mother thinks this is ridiculous.
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"I'm angry, I'm frustrated, I'm mad. It just went too far,” she said. “They are charging him with larceny, which I don't have no understanding as to why he is being charged with larceny when he was entitled to that milk from the beginning,"
Ryan is now currently suspended from school and if charges are laid against him, the youngster will have a juvenile record that will make it difficult for him to get into college and find work, all because of a milk carton worth 65 cents.