6-year-old girl arrested heads to Tallahassee to get law changed

ORLANDO, Fla. - A little girl and her grandma are on their way to Tallahassee, hoping to make big changes in order to protect young children.

Kaia, 6, is all packed up and ready for a road trip to the state capital with her Grandmother, Meralyn Kirkland.

"Going to speak in the Senate tomorrow. I’m going to speak on me and Kaia’s experience," Kirkland said.

Back in September, Kaia was accused of battering three staff members at a charter school and was arrested.

Kirkland says Kaia was having a tantrum due to a medical issue.

The arrest was caught on bodycam.

Kaia: "I don’t want to go into the police car."

Officer: "You don’t want to. You have to."

Kaia: "No, please!"

RELATED: Police body camera video shows arrest of 6-year-old Orlando girl

Investigators say Officer Dennis Turner arrested Kaia.

The 6-year-old was hauled off by a different officer following Turner’s orders.

Listen to what Turner said: "The youngest I’ve ever arrested is 7. He was stealing at Albertsons and thought it was a joke. Seven is the youngest. She’s 8, isn’t she? She’s 6. Now, she broke the record."

The Orlando Police Department said Officer Turner has arrested a total of eight children under 12 years old since 2001. 

Senator Randolph Bracy says it's disturbing.

He originally sponsored a bill that would prohibit kids under 12 to be arrested, unless it's a violent felony.

That aged is now lowered to 10.

"I think there are only two states that have 12 as the minimum age of arrest, so I think the senators that wanted to support it felt more comfortable that we be in line with the rest of the country," Sen. Bracy said. 

RELATED: Grandma of 6-year-old arrested says more needs to be done

Police Chief Orlando Rolon fired Turner and changed the policy requiring the deputy chief to approve the arrest of any child under the age of 12.

He released a statement:

"A top priority of the Orlando Police Department is the safety and well-being of our community’s children, and what happened last year is not a reflection of who we are as an agency and as a community. As a grandfather myself, I understand how traumatic this incident was for everyone involved. Very young children are to be protected, nurtured and disciplined in a manner that does not rely on the criminal justice system to do it."

"Nationally, more than 30,000 children under 10 years of age have been arrested since 2013. Unfortunately, among those arrests, some children have committed unimaginable and unthinkable crimes. As a country, more can be done to engage our at-risk youth, more can be done to prevent juvenile crime and further discussion must take place to address this national issue."

"In Orlando, we will continue to look for ways to further protect our children and have already made changes to the department’s juvenile arrest policy to ensure something like this never happens again. Our officers serve our community with courage and professionalism, but we will hold them accountable if they violate our community’s trust. And, we will continue to invest in our youth and work to forge meaningful relationships to better support and mentor our kids."

Kirkland said she prays the bill becomes law.

"I feel good about it simply because I’m just a typical grandmother. No other child will have to worry about being arrested again," she said.

Kaia and her grandmother will see the Senate on Tuesday and be recognized in the House on Thursday.