School employee accused of chasing and hitting 3-year-old autistic boy
Mother Taneshia Lindsay says her nonverbal son was doing nothing wrong prior to hallway attack
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Your support makes all the difference.A pre-school employee who hit a 3-year-old autistic boy in the head before knocking him to the ground has been fired, according to the school district.
Surveillance footage posted by the boy’s mother Taneshia Lindsay to social media shows the unidentified staff member chase and hit the boy, pick him up by his ankles and carry him down a hall at the Rosa Parks Early Learning Center in Dayton, Ohio.
Ms Lindsay told a press conference on Wednesday that her son Braylen Tootle was nonverbal and autistic, and the incident occurred on just his second day at the school.
“He wasn’t doing anything wrong,” a tearful Ms Lindsay said. “I don’t know what was going on in that man’s head, but my son did not deserve that.”
Dayton Public Schools interim superintendent David Lawrence told WHIO the employee had been dismissed after the 21 August incident.
“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,” Dr Lawrence told the news site.
“Although the District cannot publicly comment on specific personnel matters, parents and guardians should be assured that the individual is no longer employed,” he added.
The boy’s parents have angrily accused the school district of failing to inform them about the incident and to seek treatment for the child’s head injuries.
Father Robert Tootle told WHIO that he was only told that he had bumped his head, but not that he had been knocked over and carried upside down by an employee.
He was later informed by Child Protective Services that the incident had been captured on a hallway camera.
The surveillance footage was only released after they had requested it several times from the school district.
Ms Lindsay posted footage of the 21 August incident to Facebook, which has been shared more than 1,700 times in three days.
The clip shows the employee chase down and strike the boy in the head, causing him to hit the ground. He then picks the boy up by his ankles from behind and carries him down the hallway, before another school employee runs towards them.
It’s not clear what led up to the incident, and the parent’s lawyer Michael Wright said that the full video has not been released.
In a later post, Ms Lindsay said that she was upset the school had not informed them immediately.
“After finally seeing that video my heart is broken and my feelings are hurt,” she said. “I just want justice for my baby because he didn’t deserve that.”
Ms Lindsay added in the Facebook post that she did not believe the school was “bad as a whole”.
“My son trusts his teachers and there are other staff that love what they do and work really well with the kids.”
Dayton police are investigating the incident, a spokesperson told WHIO.
The Independent has contacted the school district, Dayton police and the family’s lawyer for comment. None responded immediately.
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