Local mother demands answers after daughter was Baker Acted

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local mother tells Action News Jax she’s demanding answers over why her daughter was Baker Acted last week.

Action News Jax Alicia Tarancon spoke with the woman, Martina Falk, and her attorneys who are now calling for an investigation into the Duval County School District over how this incident was handled.

Falk sat down next to her attorneys holding back tears.

It’s been almost a week since she told Action News Jax her special needs daughter Nadia was handcuffed and taken to a mental health facility under the Baker Act.

"She has been traumatized completely. I can’t imagine how my daughter felt being locked in a psychiatric hospital," Falk said.

The school district and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told Action News Jax the child was never handcuffed.

A spokesperson said the girl walked out of the school calmly holding the principal’s hand.

“If she was calm, why was she Baker Acted? Why wasn’t she properly given the love and attention that she needed?” Falk said.

According to the incident report we received from JSO, officers were called out to Love Grove Elementary School after a clinical social worker complained that Nadia was a threat to herself and others.

The report went on to say that the 6-year-old girl was destroying school property, was out of control and was attacking staff.

According to police, school administrators said they contacted Falk to let her know her daughter was being taken out of school.

Falk’s attorneys want an investigation to find out what happened and to see if any new policies and procedures need to go into place, especially when it comes to children with special needs.

For now, Nadia is attending school at Hope Haven while her mother works on getting answers from the school district.

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