Police handcuffed autistic boy on Maryland school bus

LAUREL, Md. – School officials are investigating after an 11-year-old autistic boy was handcuffed by police officers on a Maryland school bus.

The Baltimore Sun reports the boy allegedly bit several people Wednesday afternoon. He was being driven home from Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute, which educates students with severe learning disabilities.

Howard County police say the boy's bus driver and an aide called 911 and said they and two students had been bitten. They told police the boy had become aggressive after escaping from his seat harness. No one was treated for injuries and no one was arrested.

The boy's mother, Judy Santelices of Columbia, says her son should have been treated differently.

Howard County schools spokeswoman Rebecca Amani-Dove says the driver and aide followed correct protocols.