The family of an eighth-grader is suing their local police department, their child’s school, and Instagram after their daughter was wrongfully arrested for making death threats on social media.
Florida teen Nia Whims was 12 years old when she was accused of creating an Instagram account that was then used to target a classmate and others with death threats and bomb threats. When pressed by her parents and law enforcement, the child continued to deny that she was behind the threats. Despite this, Whims was arrested on November 19 and remained detained in a juvenile detention center for 11 days.
The teen was later released after police officials were able to determine that she did not send the threatening messages. In fact, it was revealed that another classmate who knew Nia created a fake Instagram account using the 7th grader's name. Through the newly created Instagram account, the classmate, who is not named in the lawsuit, was then able to send threatening messages to both herself and other individuals. By doing so, the classmate created the appearance that Whims was the one behind the social media threats.
According to the suit, because the police department failed to properly investigate the case, the 12-year-old spent unwarranted time incarcerated.
The complaint also points the finger at Instagram for failing to provide the necessary information that would have cleared the teen. “A unique hardware identifier belonging to every communications chip of any kind that accesses the internet, is a critical step in being able to investigate cyber-crimes,” the complaint reads. “The information is literally available at the press of a button, however, Defendant INSTAGRAM failed and refused to promptly provide or cooperate with the investigating officers which led to the delay in determining that N.W. was innocent and was in custody without justification.”
The teen's family also points the blame at their daughter's school, Renaissance Charter School at Pines. According to the complaint, their daughter suffered relentless bullying and when Whims and her mother brought up their concerns, the school did not act accordingly. The family’s lawyer Marwan Porter shared, "Had they listened to her, this would have never happened to Nia."
In a press conference, the teen's mother, Lezlie-Ann Davis, recounted her daughter’s wrongful arrest. "She wasn't there for Thanksgiving," her mother shared. "She was heartbroken. She came home and she threw away her school uniform."
Porter shared in an interview with USA Today, "The charter school and the police department failed to do a proper investigation, failed to do their homework – no pun intended – before putting our children in handcuffs and locking them behind bars," Porter said. "It's been very, very difficult on them as a family."
According to the complaint, the family is seeking $30,000 in damages, money which will go toward counseling for the psychological and emotional distress Nia suffered following the wrongful arrest.
