Chicago mother says video shows son with autism body-slammed, injured at school

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)


A Chicago mother of a student with autism said her son was attacked at school in a brutal bullying incident that was captured on video.

Gabrielle George said a video posted on social media Monday showed her 14-year-old son T.J. Harrer being picked up and body-slammed by another student at Lake View High School, located on the north side of Chicago.

Harrer -- who has autism, but functions well enough to attend public school -- suffered from a separated shoulder and head trauma in the incident, according to his mother.

George said the school told her that Harrer had fallen while playing around with another student, but witnesses said he was lifted at least five feet in the air and tossed to the floor.

She accused the school of downplaying the seriousness of the incident.

"What actually happened to my son was completely opposite the story that I was told," George told ABC’s Chicago station WLS on Tuesday. “Had I known that, I would have immediately come and got him. He should have been immediately taken to the hospital.

"If you saw the way he was thrown on the floor, he's lucky he didn't snap his neck," she added.

Harrer, a high school freshman who’s won numerous medals in the Special Olympics, said the encounter started with the other boy making fun of him.

"That's when they grabbed me by the chest and threw me down on the floor," he told WLS, adding that he barely knew the boy who assaulted him. Now, he says he is unsure about going back to the school.

"I don't want him to go back," his mother said. "I was promised they would protect him, that they would keep him from this very thing. And now, where do I go, where do I send him?"

Lake View High School Principal Paul Karafiol said he sent a letter to parents regarding the incident.

"I was very upset to see the video, but at the same time I was very proud of the fact that other students were the ones who brought it to our attention," Karafiol said in a statement to WLS.


Source: Student with autism brutally bullied at school

 

[dragoncat16]

It's all nice and good that other students brought it to the school's attention, but who exactly was it that downplayed what happened: the students or the school?

The more important question is what is going to be done about the assault? Is the bully going to be kicked out or disciplined in any way? How does the school pledge to protect the victim in the future?

Why is it that when there is a school bullying incident on the news it's always the victim - and not the bully - that has to find a new school?

This is the attitude toward bullying in society. Bullies, at school and in the adult world, are just allowed to do what they do, and even enabled, by experiencing no consequences when they do stuff like this. The message society is trying to send bullying victims is that they deserve to be bullied because they are different, and that they need to change themselves.

 

[Judge]

It appears the school has done nothing right under the circumstances from the outset. What a mess.

I see someone "falling on their sword" at the school level, and the district having to write a big check in a legal settlement they don't want to go to court over where jurors see that video. And perhaps even an insurer who non-renews the district's liability insurance over incompetence.

 

[dragoncat16]

Why does everything have to be motivated by money? Why can't they just do the right thing for the sake of it?

 

[Judge]

Why does everything have to be motivated by money? Why can't they just do the right thing for the sake of it?

Avarice is purely a human behavior. Not found in the animal kingdom.

Watch this scene from "The Flim Flam Man". The look on Michael Sarrazin's face after a successful "bait and switch" is accomplished. Even though he's a part of the con, he's still disgusted at how easy it is to play upon the greed of others. Really quite sad, but very real. Makes for a rather bittersweet comedy, IMO.

Back to the original post. The irony. In the school's attempt to downplay the incident to avoid a lawsuit, they likely enhanced their legal liability. Greedy, stupid and downright dishonest under the circumstances IMO.

 

[Gary DuBois]

(Not written by me)


A Chicago mother of a student with autism said her son was attacked at school in a brutal bullying incident that was captured on video.

Gabrielle George said a video posted on social media Monday showed her 14-year-old son T.J. Harrer being picked up and body-slammed by another student at Lake View High School, located on the north side of Chicago.

Harrer -- who has autism, but functions well enough to attend public school -- suffered from a separated shoulder and head trauma in the incident, according to his mother.

George said the school told her that Harrer had fallen while playing around with another student, but witnesses said he was lifted at least five feet in the air and tossed to the floor.

She accused the school of downplaying the seriousness of the incident.

"What actually happened to my son was completely opposite the story that I was told," George told ABC’s Chicago station WLS on Tuesday. “Had I known that, I would have immediately come and got him. He should have been immediately taken to the hospital.

"If you saw the way he was thrown on the floor, he's lucky he didn't snap his neck," she added.

Harrer, a high school freshman who’s won numerous medals in the Special Olympics, said the encounter started with the other boy making fun of him.

"That's when they grabbed me by the chest and threw me down on the floor," he told WLS, adding that he barely knew the boy who assaulted him. Now, he says he is unsure about going back to the school.

"I don't want him to go back," his mother said. "I was promised they would protect him, that they would keep him from this very thing. And now, where do I go, where do I send him?"

Lake View High School Principal Paul Karafiol said he sent a letter to parents regarding the incident.

"I was very upset to see the video, but at the same time I was very proud of the fact that other students were the ones who brought it to our attention," Karafiol said in a statement to WLS.


Source: Student with autism brutally bullied at school

If i ever was around and could see my fellow aspie get bullied or treated badly your damn right i am going to fight and protect my fellow aspie. Bullys shouldn't even exist and schools and in general should have harsh punishment for bullying. The school should expell the bully and i wish T.J. Harrier and his family peace and happyness.