- Credibility:
ALBANY PARK — A staff member at Roosevelt High School has been removed after a video showed them scuffling with a 14-year-old student and throwing them to the ground twice.
Police said the confrontation occurred around 11:25 a.m. Monday. Students recorded videos of the altercation, which was first reported by WGN Tuesday night.
In one of the videos, an adult staff member grabs the student and tries to force him to walk out of the school’s lunchroom. The student resists, and the staff member appears to grab at the student’s neck and knocks him to the ground. The staff member holds the student on the ground and takes him outside, the video shows.
Another video appears to show the staff member pushing the same student to the ground a second time while pulling him outside.
Other footage show the student then sitting against a wall outside, snow around him, while the staff member stands over him.
The student had cuts on his face and bruises, according to WGN.
The videos don’t show what led up to the attack. The student wrote in a social media post the staff member had asked him to leave the lunchroom and became irritated when he reached for his backpack, according to WGN.
The 14-year-old told investigators the school staffer grabbed the back of his neck and they struggled. The man pushed the boy to the ground and out the door, police said.
No injuries were reported, and no one was in custody, police said. Detectives are investigating.
A Chicago Public Schools spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
Principal Daniel Kramer told school families and staff in letters Tuesday the incident was immediately reported to school district officials, and CPS’ Office of Student Protections and Title IX is investigating.
“The safety of your children is always our top priority, which is why I must inform you of a situation that has recently come to light,” Kramer said in one letter, which Block Club obtained. “There have been allegations that one of our staff members engaged improperly with a student. The allegations do not involve sexual misconduct.”
The staff member has been removed from the school during the investigation, Kramer wrote in a letter.
Support services are available to the student, and his family has been notified, Kramer wrote in a letter.
“Please know that we are taking this situation seriously, and we remain committed to providing your children with a safe, positive learning environment where they can reach their full potential,” Kramer said in a letter.
Kramer could not discuss details about the incident due to the investigation, he told Block Club.
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