Monik Herron is still trying to process what happened to her son last month at his school in Matteson, Illinois.
She first saw the video last week.
“Just knowing that I sent my child to school, and he’s not being protected,” Herron said in an interview with ABC 7 in Chicago.
In the video, Herron’s 8-year-old son is seen running down a hallway at Marya Yates Elementary School in suburban Chicago, chased by a teacher’s aide who grabs him by the arm and swings him around.
The aide, Dionne Gamble, is then seen dragging the child down the hallway before shoving him inside a classroom and eventually kicking him. Gamble was arrested that same day, charged with misdemeanor battery and endangering the life and health of a child.
Gamble’s first court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 31.
Herron said her son is scared to go back to school.
“What do I do? You know, you’re confused, and it’s scary because you don’t want it to happen again,” she said.
Nearly as disturbing as the assault is the reaction of adults who witnessed it.
“So that’s one, two, four, five, possibly five to six adults who stood by and did nothing,” said Cass T. Casper, Herron’s attorney. “That is unfathomable to us, and we are seeking accountability from the district to ensure the parents of the community that this never happens again.”
Herron has filed a lawsuit against Elementary School District 159 and four unnamed adults identified as John Does.
“To see the video, I was shocked,” she said. “I was shocked to see other adults on the video, and nobody helped him or even tried to report the behavior.”
Herron said her son stayed in that classroom for at least an hour before walking to the principal’s office to tell someone what had happened to him. A school administrator notified Herron; police were also called that day.
Her son, meanwhile, was sent home on the bus.
“His head was hurt; his arm was hurting,” Herron said. “You know, I had to leave work, you know, and take him to the hospital. You know, so I’m like why was he put on a bus?”
The school district declined to comment on the incident or Gamble’s employment status. An investigation has been launched by the Department of Children and Family Services.
