Photo credit: WFTV
Two Florida school employees are jobless after being caught dragging a little Black boy down a hallway by his arms and giving him a wedgie.
The incident occurred on March 8 at Eustis Heights Elementary School in Eustis, Florida, reported WFTV. Footage taken by a CCTV camera showed a school dean and guardian forcing the six-year-old boy down a hallway. The female dean maintained her grip on his wrist while the male guardian held the child by his pants.
Marian Findley, the kindergartener’s mother, also claimed her son said he was “slammed in the chair and said one of the guardians had squeezed his neck.”
“Dragged like a little rag doll. That’s the first thing that came to my mind and then to see the dean pulling him,” Findley told WESH. “I know that’s not OK.”
“We’re talking about a 45-pound child that’s 6 years old. He just turned 6. I don’t understand when that is an OK kind of scenario,” Kevin Findley. The child’s father said. The concerned parents believe this isn’t the first time their son has been targeted.
School officials claim the boy had behavioral problems and described him as “defiant.”
The Findley reportedly received calls about the behavior, but they don’t believe the accusations.
“We don’t have defiant issues at home with our son. We did meetings over there at the school just to kind of see what’s going on,” Kevin Findley insisted. His wife believes her son was repeatedly targeted.
“It happened more than one time. Let me just be clear. The video they gave us, just four accounts,” Marian Findley said.
The guardian reportedly bragged about using a “superman carry, and it put a really good wedgie on the student” in a text message to other guardians. He also admitted to “lifting the student off the ground by holding the waist of the pants from behind with the student’s feet off the ground.”
One of the other staff members reported the conversation the following day. This isn’t the first time the pair has been accused of problematic conduct. Another school employee claimed the guardian would press the students’ pressure points to “get their attention.” The school principal also expressed concern over how the guardian and dean treated students.
The school dean and guardian resigned from their position to avoid termination over the hallway debacle. A school spokesperson confirmed their departure to WFTV.
“We take student safety very seriously. When the principal was made aware of the allegations, she looked into the situation and notified parents the next day, called DCF as we required to do, and notified our Employee Relations Department,” the rep said.
“Employee Relations conducted an investigation and recommended termination. Both employees resigned in lieu of termination,” the spokesperson continued. “Employee Relations reported both individuals to the Florida Department of Education. An additional allegation was made against a separate employee. An investigation into that employee’s alleged involvement is ongoing.”