Mississippi judge sentences 10 year old Black child, Quantavious Eason to probation for public urination. How black men and boys are disproportionately incarcerated and targeted by the judicial system.
What if he was white? A 10-year-old Mississippi ‘black’ boy who was arrested for urinating in public has been placed on probation — and ordered to write a report about his idol, deceased basketball legend, Kobe Bryant.
Quantavious Eason made national headlines in August when a police officer saw the ten year old urinating behind his mom Latonya’s car in a parking lot in Senatobia, south of Memphis, while she was at an attorney’s office.
During a hearing Tuesday at the Youth Court in Tate County, the third-grader was given three months’ probation and ordered to write a two-page report on his favorite NBA player, Bryant, CNN reported.
Targeted because of his race?
The boy was not declared delinquent or in need of supervision, along with the episode not going on his record, family attorney Carlos Moore told the news outlet.
Moore blamed the arrest on race – saying any child would have done the same thing under similar circumstances and noting that there was no public restroom at the attorney’s office.
‘He did what any reasonable person would do: he urinated next to the car behind the door — not exposing himself to anyone,’ Moore told NBC News.
‘He would not have been arrested, prosecuted or sentenced if he was any other color, race, besides black,’ he said.
Quantavious, who was charged with being a child in need of supervision, also is required to check in with a probation officer once a month for three months.
‘We are not going to appeal. He will not have a criminal record, this is probation. And he is a fan of Kobe Bryant, so he doesn’t mind writing the two-page report,’ Moore said.
Bias against black men and boys in America
‘But, still, the principle of it — he should not have to do anything. He should be enjoying his Christmas holiday like the other kids,’ the attorney added.
Latonya said she was unsure if her son’s skin color influenced her son’s arrest and ensuing punishment, while claiming that the boy had been mistreated during the process.
‘My son is going through enough getting arrested and then for him having to see a probation officer and then write an essay, I don’t think it’s right or it’s fair,’ she said, NBC News reported.
‘The average child would use the bathroom outside … and probably some grown men that would do the same thing,’ the peeved mom said.
In August, Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler addressed the incident on the agency’s Facebook page after he initially cited the state’s Youth Court Act in defending the arrest of a minor.
Targeted by the Judicial system?
‘Several of our officers were recently involved in an incident that involved a ten-year-old juvenile. The officer’s decisions violated our written policy and went against our prior training on how to deal with these situations,’ the official wrote.
The police chief added that one of the officers was no longer employed at the department, another would be disciplined and that the agency would conduct mandatory juvenile training ‘just as we do every year.’
After his arrest, Quantavious said he was scared when confronted by police, although they did not handcuff him.
‘I started crying a little bit. They took me down there and got me out of the truck. I didn’t know what was happening. I get scared and start shaking and thinking I am going to jail,’ he said.
Notes the Bureau of Justice Statistics: ‘An estimated 28.5% of black men, 16.0% of Hispanic men, and 4.4% of white men are expected to serve a State or Federal prison sentence.’
In 2021, there were an estimated 47.2 million people who self-identified as Black, making up 14.2% of the country’s population according to PewResearch.
The organization recognizes the median income for black households at $46, 400 compared to a median income of $81,060 U.S. dollars for white, non-Hispanic families.
