Lawyer for family of boy who killed himself files intent to sue school system

The attorney representing the mother of 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera, who hanged himself last month, has filed an intent to sue the DeKalb County School System.

School officials have 30 days to answer the claim, though Masika Bermudez’s lawyer expects the suit to go forward.

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BITA HONARVAR/bhonarvar@ajc.com

Summer Hunter (left), 12, and Erin Mauldin, 13, sign a memorial posted on the door of the apartment that was home to Jaheem Herrera. Jaheem hanged himself after returning home from Dunaire Elementary in Stone Mountain, where he was relentlessly bullied, according to his family.

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“We will be asking for a substantial amount,” said Gerald Griggs, whose complaint alleges negligence by Dunaire Elementary School officials. Jaheem’s mother said she complained to them about relentless bullying of her son, but that the abuse didn’t stop. She believes it ultimately led Jaheem to kill himself.

Four former teachers said they never witnessed the alleged bullying, according to internal memos written after Jaheem’s death on April 16.

DeKalb school officials said they won’t comment on the case until an internal investigation was completed. Retired Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore is leading the review into the events surrounding Jaheem’s death.

“Our goal is justice and accountability,” Griggs said. He expects the case will go to trial.

“If they aren’t going to fight it they’ll be settling a lot of other cases,” said Griggs, who represents other parents of Dunaire students who he alleges were also bullied.

A “significant majority” of any money awarded to the family — via settlement or jury verdict — would go toward funding the Jaheem Herrera Foundation, he said.

“We want to set up educational programs that would work to eliminate bullying,” Griggs said.