OAKLAND, Calif. — An Oakland High student with cerebral palsy was punched several times and dumped on the floor from his wheelchair by a school security guard earlier this month, school officials say.
OAKLAND, Calif. — An Oakland High student with cerebral palsy was punched several times and dumped on the floor from his wheelchair by a school security guard earlier this month, school officials say.
The attack, caught on surveillance video, happened about 9 a.m. May 19, according to a letter sent from Oakland High Principal Matin Abdel-Qawi to parents. The security officer was arrested and faces charges of child abuse. The school district fired him in the wake of the attack, spokesman Troy Flint said Friday.
According to Abdel-Qawi’s letter, two school security guards were urging students to go to class, but several lingered in the hallway, including the student in the wheelchair. The student either refused or didn’t move fast enough, at which point, the officer tried to push the student’s chair to class, Abdel-Qawi said.
The video shows the security officer pushing the student’s chair and then suddenly punching him more than once with his right hand. Abdel-Qawi said the student tried to slap away the security guard’s hand, and after being handcuffed, then spit in the security officer’s face. The attack continued until the teen wound up on the floor.
Neither the student nor the officer was dentified by school officials, though KGO-TV identified the security guard as 23-year-old Marchell Mitchell.
“We consider this behavior completely unacceptable, harmful to our school and community and traumatic to our students and families,” Abdel-Qawi wrote in the letter. “I’m shocked and deeply hurt by this behavior and apologize on behalf of the staff at Oakland High.”
Oakland Unified Schools Superintendent Gary Yee agreed.
“I think the actions we saw in the video were really appalling and should never happen under any circumstances,” Yee said Friday. “I went to his house and personally expressed my concern for what happened. He appreciated it. He shared his perspective with us.”
Yee said the district offered the student alternate placement in another school but the student said he wanted to remain at Oakland High.
Oakland police did not immediately return calls seeking comment.