Bobby Fights for Systemic Change After Young Girl Is Arrested and Perp-Walked Past First-Grade Classmates

Bobby DiCello represents the family of Kaia Rolle, who, at the tender age of six, was arrested and restrained by police after administrators at her elementary school reported her to authorities.

Kaia Rolle, a first-grader in Orlando, Florida, had been suffering from a medical condition that was leading to behavioral outbursts, and in September 2019, she threw a tantrum at school. School administrators knew that Kaia and her family were working to resolve the health and behavioral issues but nonetheless chose to contact Orlando police to intervene. The police officers arrested the six-year-old, binding her wrists with zip ties and walking her “perp style” in front of her classmates to their squad car as she pleaded through tears for help. They then brought the distraught young girl to the juvenile jail, where she was fingerprinted and had her mugshot taken.

Shocked by this egregious treatment, Bobby stepped up to challenge the system on behalf of Kaia and her family. In addition to seeking damages for this traumatizing event, they intend to change Florida’s laws so children of Kaia’s age and older will no longer suffer similar trauma. They are bringing suit against several entities for this “cruel, senseless, and terrorizing arrest.”

In September 2023, Bobby filed the civil case—Rolle, et al. v. City of Orlando, et al.—in the Circuit Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for Orange County, Florida.