Mississippi police admit 'error in judgment' over taking 10-year-old to jail for peeing behind his mom's car

• Mississippi police detained a 10-year-old after an officer saw him peeing behind his mom's car.
• Senatobia's police chief said the officer's decision to transport the boy to jail was an "error in judgement."
• But the chief also stood by the officer's decision to refer the child to youth court.

A Mississippi police department is defending an officer's decision to refer a 10-year-old boy to youth court after he was spotted peeing behind his mother's car, but acknowledged an "error in judgment" for transporting the child to jail.

A police officer spotted Quantavious Eason peeing behind his mother's car on August 10, his mother, Latonya Eason, told local Fox affiliate WHBQ. Latonya Eason said she was inside an attorney's office, asking for legal advice, when the incident occurred.

Latonya Eason posted a photo of her son sitting in the back of the police car that same day to Facebook.

"This is to ridiculous something really need to be done," Eason wrote in the post. Eason did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In a statement, Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler said officers can refer children as young as 10 to youth court if they are deemed "in need of supervision," which is determined if they "commit acts that would be identical for an adult under identical circumstances."

"In this situation, an officer personally witnessed a 10-year-old child committing an act in public which would have been illegal for an adult under these circumstances," Chandler said in the statement. "The officer did not observe a parent on the scene during the initial contact."

Chandler said the police officer's decision to take the 10-year-old to jail was an "error in judgment" because his mother was there as a "reasonable alternative" to transport the boy to the police station.

"Mistakes like this are a reminder in this profession as to the continual need for training and refreshers on the various topics that we encounter each day," the statement said.

Latonya Eason told WHBQ she asked her son why he didn't come inside to use the bathroom. She said he was told by his sister there was no bathroom inside the office.

Latonya Eason told WHBQ the officer originally let the boy get back in her car, but a second officer arrived, who said the child had to be "arrested because he can't do that."

Quantavious Eason told the outlet that he "started crying a little bit" and didn't know what was happening when the police took him to jail.

Eason told the outlet police charged her son with being a child in need of services.

"That could really traumatize my baby," Eason said.