First, press criminal charges. Then, file a civil suit.
Thankfully, the mom comes off as reasonable here. You've gotta feel for her. I wonder where dad is.
Update: OK, no civil suit against mom. She doesn't look like she has much to give, and she certainly didn't condone her son's behavior. I have a hard time imagining being pummeled like that poor (substitute) bus driver was, though, and not seeking some civil damages.
But I'd still definitely press criminal charges.
I'm not sure what the mother meant by the statement that she wondered if something was done to set him off. I may be reading too much into it, but that seems to imply that she wonders if the school bus driver did/said something to set him off, therefore she deserved what she got? From what I saw, the driver was just doing her job.
ReplyDeleteI would sue, press charges - everything that I could do as a citizen. This kid needs to learn he doesn't get a free pass.
Then again, I would never be a school bus driver, unless they let me pack a taser or something. Maybe they need to put a glass partition between the school bus driver and the students? It's almost safer to be a city bus driver, don't you think?
I, too, caught the "set him off" statement, but I took that to be her just being a mother and just speaking off the cuff. From the totality of her statements I don't think she was looking to place blame anywhere other than where it belonged--on her son.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the barrier thing. I prefer your taser idea.
Did things like that happen when we were kids? I know there was no internet and no cable news networks on which such videos could go viral, but wow.
Crossing OFF the list of possible jobs: "Substitute Bus Driver"
ReplyDeleteWhat is a kid with violent tendencies doing on a school bus without a "handler" in the first place?
File charges on the kid AND sue the Mom AND the school district
She's looking for someone other than her son to blame. I personally hope the bus driver gets some compensation. I don't know what is going on lately, but we've had SEVERAL fights at school and there are usually less than one a month. I think the anxiety that parents are feeling is seeping down to the kids. My students have been ditzy and moody, more so than usual. I would imagine the bus driver will sue the district and end up with an out of court settlement for far less than she deserves. Many districts have bus monitors in addition to drivers to help control the kids. Frankly, it's a thankless job and I wouldn't want it voluntarily.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, the kids on our bus route were pretty obnoxious. Don't recall anyone assaulting a driver, though. There was some name calling and when that happened the kids who did it would be banned from riding the bus for a few days.
ReplyDeleteYou have to love America where when a black kid intimidates and beats a white woman, no hate crime is commited but if a 16 y/o white kid had beaten a black woman, hate crime would have been the point of the story.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone want to live in a country where whites have to worry if they are doing something that will "set off" a black person?
WOW, I didn't read "race" into that at ALL. I read "child with mental problems on a bus with no supervision" and "substitute bus driver with no clue about said problem" into the story.
ReplyDelete(Unless there is something else in this story not reported?)
But it *sounds like* a school district problem that this child was on the bus with no supervision, though there is probably much more to it than that.
Certainly prayers should go out for ALL involved. This mentally disturbed guy is going to need some major help, and he's going to live somewhere when he gets out. And this poor bus driver. I had only a "contusion" on my pinky several weeks ago and can still not even close my fist, unscrew caps and the like.