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Police Chief Resigns After Hitting Autistic Boy With Baton

Submitted by Landon Bryce on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 08:42
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Jonesville Police Chief Brian Corbett has resigned after hitting 8-year-old Eli Kolodie with a baton after the autistic boy ran away from school:

Corbett was put on paid administrative leave in March as State Police investigated a mother's complaint he used excessive force on her 8-year-old son, who has autism. As we reported in March, the child took off from his school's playground and was put in handcuffs and hit with a baton after the Police Chief caught up with him. At the time, Corbett did not know the boy had autism and told us he would've reacted differently had he known.

After hearing about the chief's resignation, the boy's mother says it has helped to bring some closure to what happened to her son.

"I think it's a really good indicator to the rest of his team that this is not tolerated, that grown men are not allowed to hit children," said Kristen Kolodie.