Prosecutor Admits It Was 'a Mistake' to Charge 10-Year-Old Over Dodgeball Game

WXYZ

The prosecutor Wayne County, Michigan admitted to the family Bryce Lindley, who was charged last month with aggravated assault over a school dodgeball game, that pressing charges was a mistake.

In a letter to the family's attorney, Maurice Davis, Kym L. Worthy wrote, "The charge in this case was a mistake in judgment by this office, even though it was rectified by permanently dismissing the case on July 31, 2019, prior to the first scheduled court proceeding."

Worthy continued, "To be clear, my office will not be refiling this petition, nor was it ever the intent of our office to do so. I have taken this extremely seriously, and concrete steps have already been made. I am currently reviewing the policies and procedures of our Juvenile Division and re-enforcing internal measures to prevent a similar matter from occurring in the future."

The incident happened back in April at Ruth Eriksson Elementary in Canton, Michigan.

According to WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit, the mother of the child who was hit said that her child suffered from a medical condition that makes head injuries especially dangerous. The child reportedly suffered a black eye, a bruised nose, and a concussion as a result of being hit in the head with the dodgeball.

Cameishi Lindley said her son was suspended from a school for a day and she thought that was the end of it. She said that neither she nor her son were aware of the other child's condition.

WXYZ

Lindley then hired Maurice Davis in an attempt to get the charges against her son Bryce dropped.

"You cannot criminally charge a child for participating in a dodgeball game at a school," Davis said in a statement. "If the school intends to hold this child criminally liable for a dodgeball game, then the prosecutors need to bring charges against all of the teachers and school employees that initiated the game, allowed the children to participate in the game, and supervised them during the game."

Lindley defended her son, saying, "My son is not a criminal. He was a little boy playing a game of dodgeball at school, a childhood activity that is as American as baseball and apple pie."

She added, "If every child that played a game of dodgeball and threw a dodgeball at another kid was thrown in jail the vast majority of our country would be behind bars. The criminal charge against my son is ridiculous, racist, un-American, and unlawful. The only thing my son is guilty of is being a Black boy."

Lindley and her son are black while the other child in the incident is white.