School worker fired after video shows him hit nonverbal autistic 3-year-old in Ohio
A school employee in Ohio was fired after a video showed him striking a 3-year-old boy on the child’s second day of school, news outlets reported.
The Dayton Public Schools worker can be seen chasing after the child as he runs down the hall. Then, the man strikes the child on his head, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor, video shows. The worker then picks the child up by his feet and carries him upside down back down the hallway, the video posted on Facebook on Sept. 11 shows.
The mother of the child shared the video online saying, “Be aware that these are the kind of people Dayton Public Schools hire to work with your 3 and 4 year olds, special needs or not!!”
She said on Facebook that her son Braylen is autistic and nonverbal.
Dayton Public Schools sent a statement to McClatchy News saying it has taken this matter seriously.
In the statement, interim superintendent David Lawrence said the incident took place at Rosa Parks Early Learning Center on Aug. 21 and that the video was later provided via a records request.
“After this incident, the District took immediate action to investigate and remove the employee,” Lawrence said. “The actions seen in the clip are contrary to all employee training, do not promote a culture conducive to learning, and are not tolerated in Dayton Public Schools.”
The child’s dad, Robert Tootle, and mother, Taneishia Lindsay, told WHIO they only received the video after Child Protective Services told them what happened and that it was caught on camera. Tootle told the outlet that when he picked Braylen up from school that day, all they told him was that Braylen “bumped his head.”
“Very sad to see that that would happen to anyone, but especially to a young child, and especially to a young child with a disability,” Dr. Pamela Combs, superintendent of Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities Services, told WKEF.
In a Facebook post, Lindsay says not all the staff at the school is bad. But, she says the incident should have been handled differently.
“My son trusts his teachers and there are other staff that love what they do and work really well with the kids. My issue was with the principal lying about what really happened, not notifying us immediately, and not getting Braylen any medical attention after he clearly hit his head,” the post says.
In the statement sent by the school, it says the worker “is no longer employed,” and “the safety of all students and staff is the District’s utmost priority.”
The Dayton Police Department is investigating, according to WKEF.
Teacher pins non-verbal 11-year-old down and slaps him in the face, Florida cops say
4-year-old with autism pushed into bookcase, slapped by teacher, Florida cops say
Student with autism went to get lunch. Then school officer handcuffed him, SC suit says
