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No charges against handcuffed teen

The prosecutor said there was no evidence of disorderly conduct.

By ALEX LEARY
Published December 9, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Prosecutors have officially ruled out criminal charges against the 13-year-old girl handcuffed aboard a Pinellas school bus last month.

The decision came after a review of the videotape showing the Nov. 11 incident.

"We found no evidence to support criminal charges," Bruce Bartlett, chief assistant in the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office, said Friday.

Ashley Marie Mitchell, a student at Safety Harbor Middle School, was told she could face a charge of disorderly conduct after St. Petersburg police officer Roberto "Tony" Rolon arrested her.

She was informed this week that would not happen. School officials previously said Ashley did not violate the district's code of student conduct.

"I'm very happy because I didn't want it to be on my record and keep me from doing things I want to do," Ashley said Friday afternoon, speaking to a reporter with permission from her father.

"I can't look at a police officer the same again anymore," she said.

Bartlett foreshadowed the decision earlier this month when he said charges were unlikely and criticized Rolon's actions. "It certainly didn't set a good example for the other kids on that bus to see such a hotheaded reaction," he said at the time.

The police department is conducting its own bureau-level investigation and officials declined comment Friday. Bureau-level investigations are used for relatively minor allegations, such as an officer's use of profanity. In such cases, an officer could face a reprimand and potentially time off without pay, depending on his work history.

Police Chief Chuck Harmon has also said it may be worth looking at the city's handcuffing guidelines. Some area agencies forbid officers from handcuffing subjects to vehicles for safety reasons but St. Petersburg does not address that subject.

Ashley's father said he was considering legal action against the department. He will meet with attorneys on Monday to discuss what step to take.

"We couldn't be happier that she's cleared," Luis Mitchell said. "At this point we're waiting for a response from the St. Petersburg Police Department to see if there is any disciplinary action against the officer or new regulations so this doesn't happen again."

The incident happened along a Safety Harbor roadside. Rolon, 43, boarded the bus after a student threw a hard object, believed to be a golf ball, out a window. The object caused a car to swerve and nearly hit Rolon's motorcycle as he drove home from work.

A videotape from the bus shows Rolon walking to the back after Mitchell stands and shouts she was not the student he was looking for. The tape shows Rolon twisting Ashley's arm behind her back and marching to the front.

"I don't play. ... I don't play," he says.

Rolon handcuffed Ashley to the railing in the bus stairwell and continued asking questions. A 13-year-old boy later confessed to throwing the object. He has since moved away.

Ashley has not been back on the bus, her father said, because she is too upset by the ordeal.

While he always felt charges were unwarranted, he said the family was unsure what would happen. "You really never know what card you're going to be dealt," Mitchell said.

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 18:22:02]