The 10-Year-Old Girl Arrested for a Drawing: A Case That Shook Hawai‘i
A 10-year-old girl at Honowai Elementary School in Waipahu, Hawai‘i, was arrested after drawing a picture that school staff and police considered threatening. The 2020 incident, involving a Black child with a learning disability, has since sparked national debate over school policing, racial bias, and children’s rights.
The child, identified only as N.B. in court filings, drew a picture that reportedly depicted a person holding a gun with another figure at their feet, along with phrases that included strong language and threats. School officials claimed that a parent of another student raised alarm after seeing the drawing. The next day, school staff called the Honolulu Police Department. Officers arrived at the campus, handcuffed the child, and took her to a police station. She was released without being charged.
The girl’s mother said her daughter was terrified and traumatized by the experience. The drawing, according to the family, was an emotional response to bullying and frustration. The mother also stated that her child had been diagnosed with ADHD and that the situation should have been handled with counseling, not police involvement. The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i later filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family, arguing that the arrest violated the child’s rights and reflected racial and disability discrimination.
The case revealed that other children had contributed to the drawing, but N.B. was the only one arrested. The lawsuit alleged that race played a role in how she was treated. It also claimed excessive force was used when officers handcuffed her despite her compliance and lack of threat. The Honolulu Police Department and the Department of Education defended their actions, saying the decision to contact law enforcement followed safety protocol.
After years of legal proceedings, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that the officers could be sued for excessive force, declaring that handcuffing a compliant 10-year-old child was “completely unnecessary and excessively intrusive.” However, the court granted the officers qualified immunity on the false arrest claim, finding no clearly established precedent to bar their conduct under existing law.
Later that year, the City and County of Honolulu and the Hawai‘i Department of Education reached a settlement with the family. The city paid $150,000, and the Department of Education contributed another $25,000, for a total of $175,000. The agreement included expunging the child’s arrest record and reviewing school policies for handling incidents involving young students.
The case raised several difficult questions about how schools interpret and respond to children’s behavior. Should a child’s drawing ever justify police intervention? At what point does a school incident become a law enforcement matter? Many educators and advocates argue that schools should focus on restorative approaches, counseling, and mediation instead of turning to police for discipline-related issues.
The broader concern is how race, disability, and age intersect in school discipline. Civil rights groups note that Black students and students with disabilities are disproportionately referred to law enforcement for minor misconduct. This case, they say, reflects a systemic problem where fear and bias lead to criminalization instead of care.
As of today, the girl’s record has been cleared, and her family hopes the ordeal will serve as a lesson for how schools and police respond to children in distress. For others, the story remains a stark reminder that what begins as a drawing can become a defining moment in a child’s life—depending on how adults choose to see it.
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@1TheBrutalTruth1 Oct 2025 Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976: Allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research.
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