Family of nonverbal student hit in head by former DPS employee to file lawsuit against family
Jul. 23—The parents of a nonverbal, autistic child are suing Dayton Public Schools and the paraprofessional who was caught on video last August hitting then three-year-old Braylen Tootle in the head and picking him up by his feet in a hallway as the child ran away from a classroom.
Attorney Michael L. Wright, a partner at Wright & Schulte who is representing Braylen's family, said he has had some conversations with the school district, but "we aren't really getting anywhere."
Braylen's parents, Robert Tootle and Taneshia Lindsay, said they felt disrespected and do not feel like they can trust a school to take care of their child.
"I've never talked to anybody personally that apologized or took responsibility for it," Lindsay said. "Nobody's tried to build that trust back up to bring my son back into the school district."
Montgomery County prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.'s office indicted DPS employee Darrick T. Sorrells last year on an assault and two endangering a child charges last year, but he was found incompetent to stand trial in February and ordered to undergo treatment. There is a status conference on July 29.
Wright said in filing the case in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, the family is hoping to get more answers about what happened to Braylen and how Sorrells was found incompetent to stand trial so soon after the incident. The lawsuit was filed just after noon on Tuesday.
"We were interested in seeing who was evaluating this employee, what steps they took to determine whether or not he was able to do the job that he was hired to do," Wright said.
Wright said the firm wants to see if there had been any reprimands in Sorrell's personnel file and who was training him. The family is not sure this was an isolated incident, Wright said.
In November 2023, Kenny Jones, the president of the Dayton Public School's paraprofessionals union, told school board members that paraprofessionals in the district had been working for up to three years without certifications. The district said at the time the superintendent and head of human resources would investigate the claim.
In Ohio, people who are found incompetent often are eventually brought to trial, though it can take years before that happens. Being incompetent means the defendant does not understand the proceedings or cannot assist with their defense under Ohio law.
Dayton Public Schools superintendent David Lawrence said in a statement the district took immediate action to address the incident in August 2023, noting Sorrells was placed on leave the same day and is no longer employed with DPS.
Lawrence noted Tootle and Lindsay were notified the same day, though the parents say they did not understand the full scope of the problem until Child Protective Services reached out. The parents also said last year they were not notified of the incident until school pickup.
Dayton Public also held a meeting at Rosa Parks Early Learning Center, where the incident occurred, to talk to families and address questions and concerns.
"Student safety is the District's utmost priority, and all matters involving student well-being are taken very seriously," Lawrence said. "This year, seven Professional Development Days have been added to the calendar to enhance staff training in multiple areas across the District."
Tootle said everywhere his son goes, people recognize Braylen and ask if he's the kid who was hurt by the school employee.
"It's not easy saying, yeah, and wondering if he understands," Tootle said. "He can hear what we're talking about."
Lindsay said she hoped other parents would be willing to come forward if their child has been wronged.
"We got to be the stepping stones of other kids," she said.
