The mother of a Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School student is suing Atlanta Public Schools alleging the district did nothing to prevent her son’s bullying.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Fulton County State Court last week, the student was bullied for his “style of dress and material possessions.” The suit states he wore nice clothes and had an iPhone and an Apple watch.
The lawsuit also alleges a school resource officer used excessive force when he twisted and bent the child’s arm to restrain him during one bullying incident, requiring him to where a shoulder sling and wrist brace.
APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, APS police Chief Ronald Attlin, King Middle School Principal Paul Brown, Assistant Principal Thomas Dow, and Officer Walter Artis are named in the lawsuit. The student’s teachers are also being sued, but their names are listed as John and Jane Doe.
“We have not seen the lawsuit and we haven’t been served with it yet,” a spokesman with the district told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.
In the lawsuit, the mother said the school ignored early complaints about her son being bullied during the 2017-2018 school year.
On May 1, 2018, the child attempted to avoid a bullying incident by climbing a fence to avoid a fight but was pulled off the fence by another student, according to the lawsuit. The altercation continued inside the school, where school resource officer Artis restrained the child, thinking he was the aggressor, the suit states.
Artis reviewed the tape and spoke with the unidentified student who pulled the child off the fence. In his report, he noted the student said he pulled the child from the fence “because he didn’t want (him) to fall and hurt himself,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states the child suffered physical and emotional injuries. His mother is asking for unspecified damages and a jury trial.
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Credit: AJC
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