On 4/27/23 a report was received from Arkansas State Police Investigator Deidre Uselton in regards to a new report. The DHS snapshot was reviewed and the following is a summary of the report. AV is who is in DHS custody. AO is Employee . AV has large red marks, bruises, & scratches on her left shoulder all the way down her left arm. said that a staff member named had put her in “a hold, scratched her, hit her and grabbed her arm too tightly. hair is extremely oily (appearing almost wet), full of dandruff and with spots of dried blood along her scalp. The victim was interviewed by Karen at the Children’s Safety Center. Below is a narrative of that interview. The interview was recorded and placed in the case file. Karen conducted a digitally recorded forensic interview with told Karen she goes by said she likes to draw and color and then told Karen she was brought here by Perimeter where she is at right now. said she does not really feel safe at Perimeter. Karen asked to talk about this and she stated that “she” grabbed her thumb and fingers and twisted and squeezed her arm and it left a bruise on her right arm. said this was from the hold she was put in. said that they put her arms behind her and then put her on the ground and then they get on top of you and hold you down. said this happened last Monday at Perimeter. She said that the staff is not very nice to the kids. said that they snatch papers out of their hands and say that’s what you get. said that the staff will say if you want to get in a fight, I can’t hold you back. said she has never been in a hold before. was asked who put her in the hold and she said short and and . said she was getting into a fight with someone and they were pulling her hair out. said it was because this resident was trying to take all her stuff because the staff told this resident to throw all her stuff out. said the resident hit her and then she hit her back. She said that the resident hit her on the elbow and head and then pulled her hair. said she hit her on the back in self-defense. said she had to get her down so she would not hurt her and make her go to the hospital. said at this time the staff to her in a hold. said the other resident got to stay in the unit. said after the hold she became calm. made a statement that hurts other people in holds and that she has seen a big fat bruise on another resident but did not give a name. Karen asked how the hold happened. said that she was on the ground on her back and had her feet, had her left arm, and had her right arm. said that she was moving her arms or trying. said she got calm and was put on another unit and she other unit is really good. said she does take medicine and made a comment that her dosage goes up ever da. said when she breaks a rule at Perimeter her comfort stuff gets taken away. Karen went over the other forms of maltreatment and did make a disclosure of Sexual abuse that has been reported to the hotline (re). Karen asked some clarifying questions at this time. was asked if she said anything or what she heard when this happened and she said she heard her name but did not remember anything else. She was asked about bathing at Perimeter and she said she takes a shower every night and washes her hair once a week. She said her caseworker is who brings her shampoo and conditioner. said if something happened, she would tell Abigail (adoption specialist) and she said she did not have anyone else she trusted. The victim stated that she was fighting with another juvenile and that the staff separated them and put her in a “hold”. The bruising is from her being put in that hold, which is by the way she explained it, the way the staff pins the juveniles down on the ground until they calm down during a physical altercation with other juveniles. There is no probable cause for charges at this time, this case can be closed.
