The mother of a Norway student has filed a civil lawsuit in Maine’s U.S. District Court against the town and a former school resource officer.

Alicia McKenney alleges in the complaint filed Tuesday that her child, who was 10 at the time, was illegally arrested on Dec. 6, 2023, while being subjected to excessive force during a mental health crisis at Guy E. Rowe Elementary School’s day treatment program.

According to the complaint, McKenney’s child, who has been diagnosed with PTSD and has an individualized education plan, became emotionally dysregulated in class — a behavioral manifestation of their disability.

School Resource Officer Holli Pullen of the Norway Police Department allegedly entered the classroom without being summoned, shouted at the child, used physical force to subdue them and handcuffed them for about 30 minutes.

The complaint claims Pullen ignored staff who said the child was in the process of calming down, and that her presence and actions escalated the situation. The experience caused both physical and emotional harm to the child, the complaint said.

Pullen is accused of violating the child’s constitutional rights under the Fourth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as well as protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Maine Civil Rights Act.

The complaint also alleges the town of Norway failed to properly train its officers to work with children with disabilities, which the family claims contributed directly to the incident.

Neither Pullen nor the town of Norway returned calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, along with a court order for changes in how school resource officers are trained to interact with disabled students in public schools.

Pullen, who remains an officer with the Norway Police Department, was removed from her role at Rowe Elementary following a December 2023 incident. In March 2024, Maine School Administrative District 17 Superintendent Heather Manchester suspended the district’s school resource officer program at Rowe Elementary.

The case also comes amid broader conversations about restraint practices in schools. In May 2024, a parent addressed the school board for the third time urging the district to adopt stronger protections for students in crisis.

Attorneys from Heron Legal Youth Advocacy and the Maine Justice Collective are representing the family in court.