Prosecutors Mull ‘Assault’ Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at Arizona Immigration Detention Center

Julia Conley on Common Dreams reports that prosecutors in Arizona are considering potential criminal charges after reviewing footage of children being dragged, hit, and shoved by staff members at an immigrant detention center near Phoenix.

Earlier this week the prosecutors received a report documenting an investigation into the alleged abuse after videos, first published by the Arizona Republic, provoked outrage.

The video footage showed at least three children being dragged and shoved by staff members at Hacienda del Sol in Youngtown in mid-September, a month before the detention center was closed.

One video showed a staff member pulling a child into a room and then shoving and hitting the child, while other videos showed staffers dragging two other children. County officials said Monday that the footage was being examined as evidence of potential “child abuse and assault.”

KJ