For four weeks, their 12-year-old daughter said she was bullied by a group of classmates at her north Fulton County middle school. So the Alpharetta parents set out to put a stop to it.
When that bullying allegedly continued at a Milton coffee shop near campus, James and Scarlett Toner arrived, along with another man, according to Milton police. All three adults were yelling at kids in the parking lot when officers were called to the shop, witnesses said.
Although police aren’t sure what the 33-year-old father had planned to do, he was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly provoking a fight.
“Mr. Toner stated he told his daughter to fight anyone who was bullying her on the grassy area away from the building,” the police report states. “Mr. Toner stated he only told his daughter to fight, and did not tell any other kids to fight. Mr. Toner said he then told the kids they needed to call their parents.”
No punches were thrown and no one was physically injured in the Feb. 19 incident, Milton police Lt. Charles Barstow said Wednesday. Two coffee shop employees attempted to get the Northwestern Middle School sixth-graders into the shop, but refused to allow the Toners inside, the report states. James Toner was noticeably angry when questioned by officers.
“Mr. Toner spoke with a loud voice while talking and appeared to be confrontational about every subject we spoke to him about,” the report states. “Mr. Toner continued to interrupt the involved parties while they were speaking and became agitated when I asked him to stop interrupting other people’s statements.”
James Toner allegedly cursed at officers and said his daughter was bullied because of having a black boyfriend, according to police. When their parents arrived, the students involved all spoke with officers. One boy, whose name was not released, told police the Toners' daughter had threatened to "kill the hell out him," the report states.
James Toner was charged with disorderly conduct, and both he and his wife were issued criminal trespass warnings for the coffee shop and shopping center.
“Mrs. Toner stated she was going to kick someone’s (expletive) because she gets her hair done in the building she was criminally trespassed from,” the report states.
Both James and Scarlett Toner declined to be interviewed by phone Wednesday, upon their lawyer’s advice. But Scarlett Toner said her daughter is a straight-A student who volunteers with special-needs children. And those kids were also the targets of bullying, the mother said.
‘Got To Be Some Monitoring’
The Fulton County school system did not respond to a request Wednesday afternoon for information on the bullying allegations. But Barstow said he didn’t believe parents had notified school administrators.
“Until the administrators of the school sit down and find out what’s true and what’s not, we may never get to the bottom of it,” Barstow said. “When we’re dealing with 12-year-olds, they have a panache for the dramatics.”
Investigators have not found evidence of racial slurs being used, nor confirmed rumors that bullying happened on social media, Barstow said. In talking with parents whose children have been accused of bullying, Barstow said he has advised informing school leaders of the allegations.
“We all want to provide our children with the ability to demonstrate responsibility and give them breathing room,” Barstow said. “I understand they want to give the kids their freedom, but there’s got to be some monitoring there, too.”
‘They Were Truly Threatened’
Andrea Huels said the coffee shop is three blocks from her son’s school, and she never worried about him walking over on Friday afternoons. She was shocked when he called her to say a man wanted to fight with him.
Huels said her son and the Toners’ daughter do not have any classes together. She isn’t sure why her son and the other boys were targeted.
“They were truly threatened and they were called names,” Huels said.
It could have been avoided had the Toners called her, she said.
James Toner surrendered Feb. 24 and was later released on bond.
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