By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Parents, educators and other community members called upon the Rockford School Board for answers and accountability on Tuesday following a news report that showed video of an Auburn High School freshman being slammed to the ground by a school resource officer last year.
The CBS 2 Chicago report said that Parris Moore suffered a fractured skull and permanent brain damage affecting his memory and speech. He was two weeks into his freshman year when he left his classroom and wandered the halls before being confronted by school staff and then Bradley Lauer, a Rockford police officer who was assigned to the school.
The boy’s family and its attorney, Al Hofeld Jr. of Chicago, have said the officer used excessive force and plan to file a lawsuit.
“The punishment for being a new high school student in the hallway on your phone during class should not be permanent brain damage,” said Skye Gia Garcia, who called for officers to be removed from Rockford schools. “Students should return home in the same condition that they went to school in, not leaving school in a wheelchair.”
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Garcia was one of multiple people who spoke before the school board on Tuesday, including six who addressed the incident directly. Some echoed the family’s comments in the report, saying this should have been a school disciplinary matter, not one that required police.
“I reread the handbook today and nowhere in it did it say that upon signing that I was agreeing to corporal punishment being inflicted on my child as a punishment for skipping class or doing anything else that involves behavioral issues,” said Mel Champion, a mother of three RPS students, including one who attends Auburn. “Watching a grown man bodyslam a student, a 14-year-old baby, what is that telling our children?”
School administrators and board members said the couldn’t comment on the video because of privacy rules involving students and because there is possible litigation against the district.
“When situations come up, when people are upset about something, they may have a piece of information and they think they know the complete story and we know other things and we’re not allowed to talk about it,” board vice president Tim Rollins said during the meeting. “There are usually multiple sides to a story and much more information out there that we’re not allowed to talk about and we’re not allowed to share.”
Superintendent Ehren Jarrett said the district would conduct its own investigation into the incident. However, he reiterated that because of the student’s privacy rights and the pending lawsuit he couldn’t speak about it publicly. He said that could change if the student were to waive privacy rights and if litigation were settled.
“We have to conduct our own investigation to ensure that protocols were followed properly and the Rockford police, of course, is very involved in reviewing the performance of their officers as well,” Jarrett said.
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The district has training protocols for school resources officers and a code of conduct, but its too complex to generalize, Jarrett said.
“Every situation involves a combination of professional judgement and following our established protocols,” he said.
Champion said she wanted to know if staff statements about what happened reflected the video, she asked if the officer was still employed and what would be done to ensure this didn’t happen again.
“I understand the frustration. I can empathize with the concerns and there has to be accountability for every action,” school board member Denise Pearson said. “Our community members need to partner with us with a solution because we can’t stop at a complaint and put a period there.”
Robert Bunch told the board that the officer’s takedown of the student looked deliberate and intentional.
“The person who is the so-called resource officer should be somebody who is educated in sociology, psychology, who has some knowledge of how to treat kids,” Bunch said. “Not just some police officer that you hired from the Rockford police system who is going to behave like that simply because that is what they’ve been trained to do.”
Mayor Tom McNamara, asked by the Rock River Current for comment, said he supports the continued presence of Rockford police in schools.
“I don’t respond to every law firm’s press release. They are following a playbook to provide partial information and inflame the public prior to filing a lawsuit,” McNamara said in a written statement. “I support our officers and the longstanding relationship we have had with our public schools to provide a safe learning environment.”
Nina Giannangeli, a Winnebago High School English teacher and a member of Elminate Racism 815, told the Rock River Current after the meeting that the district needs to show the public what’s being done to prevent violence from happening in our schools.
“I can’t imagine what would ever justify slamming a child’s head into the floor. There are so many alternatives,” said Giannangeli, who has taught for a dozen years. “When I have a student skipping class, it’s more of a conversation and figuring out, ‘Why are you skipping class? Why are you out here? What’s the root cause of the problem?’ And, what can we do to help you want to be here.”
She said the school needs a better approach.
“They’re still children … They need different approaches than violence,” she said. “If students see violence then that’s how they’re going to respond in the future.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas