The case against a Mississippi boy who was arrested for public urination in August has been dismissed, according to a statement released Monday by the boy’s family attorney, Carlos Moore.
Quantavious Eason, now 11, was arrested for urinating in a courthouse parking lot in Senatobia in August 2023. At a hearing in December, the child was given probation and ordered to write a book report about the late Kobe Bryant.
“Judge Rusty Harlow ruled that Eason is not a child in need of supervision, effectively dismissing the Tate County Juvenile Court petition against him,” Moore said.
Representatives for Moore’s office and Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves’ office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information Thursday.
A 10-year-old Mississippi boy was arrested for urinating in public. His attorney says race played a role
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The quantum reason.
WREG News Channel 3/Youtube
Quantavious was 10 years old when he publicly urinated next to a car while waiting for his mother, LaTonya Eason, who was at the courthouse at the time, which had a no-public restroom sign.
After being spotted by a police officer, the third-grader was disciplined by his mother, CNN reported. But four other officers then appeared on the scene, arrested Quantavious and took him to the police station in a squad car.
Moore has since argued that race played a role in Quantavious’ arrest. “He did what any sane person would do: he urinated next to the car behind the door — exposing himself to no one,” Moore said, according to NBC. “He would not have been arrested, prosecuted or convicted if he were of any other color, race than black.”
LaTonya agreed her son was treated unfairly, though she said she wasn’t sure if race was a factor. “My son has been through enough arrests,” she told reporters. “Then for him [to have] to see a probation officer and then write an essay, I don’t think it’s right or fair.”
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Quantavious Eason August 10, 2023
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Meanwhile, the officer involved in the incident was fired about 10 days after Quantavious’ arrest.
“The officer’s decisions violated our written policy and were contrary to our previous training on how to handle these types of situations,” the Senatobia Police Department chief said in a statement at the time. “As a result of this investigation, one of the officers involved is no longer employed, and the others will be disciplined. We will also have mandatory department-wide juvenile training, as we do every year.”
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Source: HIS Education