Dayton Public Schools officials have terminated a staff member for physically assaulting a nonverbal and autistic 3-year-old on the campus of one of its early learning institutions.
The apparent assault was so forceful that it caused the child to fall to the ground.
Video captured the incident. The boy’s parents went to press with the footage on Aug. 21 and are looking for immediate action, particularly since the school did not explain everything that happened to Braylen Tootle when he was picked up from school later that day.
The boy’s father, Robert Tootle, said he was only told that his son bumped his head but was later informed by Child Protective Services of the details seen in the video given to the family on Sept. 11.
“It just made me mad,” Tootle said to WHIO TV 7.
The video depicts the ex-school employee at the Rosa Parks Early Learning Center not only chasing behind the kid and hitting him so hard he falls but lifting him back up and then carrying him upside down by the feet.
Tootle and Taneshia Lindsay, the boy’s mother, have enlisted attorney Michael Wright to get to the bottom of the offense and figure out why the paraprofessional involved has not been arrested.
“They shouldn’t have sent him home pending investigation. He should have left that school in handcuffs,” Lindsay said.
“There’s a lot of questions that are unanswered that we need to have answered,” Wright said to the Dayton Daily News.
The DPS Interim Superintendent David Lawrence released a statement about the disturbing video.
“After this incident, the District took immediate action to investigate and remove the employee. 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,” Lawrence said. “Although the District cannot publicly comment on specific personnel matters, parents and guardians should be assured that the individual is no longer employed. The safety of all students and staff is the District’s utmost priority, and we appreciate the support of families as we work to provide a safe school environment for all.”
The mother, furious that the person was not arrested, took to her Facebook to thank people for their support and to vent about the case.
“I’m literally overwhelmed with comments and dms so give me a minute to go through everything and reply back please!! Also I just wanted to say, I’m not saying Rosa Parks is a bad school as a whole,” she wrote. “My issue was with the principal lying about what really happened, not notifying us immediately, and not getting Braylen any medical attention after he clearly hit his head hard asf.”
Local authorities have launched an investigation.
Dayton Police handed the case to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for potential charges. The Prosecutor’s Office has forwarded it to the Juvenile Court, where they are presently reviewing possible charges.
