Accusations of abuse by school staff; Milwaukee parents take legal action
School abuse accusations, parents take legal action
Two Milwaukee Public Schools parents are planning to take legal action after they say their disabled children were abused by school staffers.
MILWAUKEE - Two Milwaukee Public Schools parents are planning to take legal action after they say their disabled children were abused by school staffers.
Accusations of abuse
What we know:
FOX6 News sat down with 18-year-old Shrone Dunn, a nonverbal student, who shared she was slapped in the face by a paraprofessional at Riverside University High School.
Dunn lives with cerebral palsy. Her mother, Shirley Dunn, said Shrone no longer wants to go to school.
Shirley Dunn and daughter, Shrone
"I’m so hurt by this it’s not only hurting her. I am her voice. She can’t talk, she can’t say sentences," Shirley Dunn said.
The investigation
The backstory:
Milwaukee police said the incident happened back on Nov. 12. A 39-year-old now-former paraprofessional was arrested. Charges are pending.
Shirley Dunn said she was not notified of the incident until the next day.
"A school resource officer told me they arrested him and he wasn’t at the school no more.. and it was on video," Shirley Dunn said.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
FOX6 News has not been able to view the footage, but Dunn said she has been able to watch it.
"He was tying up her shoes, grabbed her off the floor, slammed her on the chair, and he reached over and he slapped her," Dunn said.
Another case?
Dig deeper:
Dunn is joining Kenjala Johnson in taking legal actions.
"Stop just letting any and everybody in..do a thorough background check," said Kenjala Johnson, an MPS parent.
Kenjala Johnson
VIdeo shows Johnson's 5-year-old autistic, nonverbal son being grabbed and thrown by a now-former teacher at Siefert School in September. Prosecutors declined to press charges.
Johnson has since transferred her son to a different school.
"I’m just hoping it brings awareness that someone is held accountable. That MPS starts to take this more seriously," Johnson said.
Lawsuit filing
What we know:
Verona Swanigan is the attorney for the two parents. She is planning to file a notice of claim with both the City of Milwaukee and the MPS Board of Directors on their behalf, seeking damages.
"We need a call to action to protect these children from when their inability to speak creates a situation where they become prey because the person that’s abusing them know they can’t tell," Swanigan said.
Verona Swanigan
Reaction
What they're saying:
Milwaukee Public Schools issued the following statement:
"The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we work every day to create environments that are safe and welcoming for all students, families and staff.
"The two individuals you asked about — one former paraprofessional and one former teacher — are not currently employed by the district.
"We proudly employ more than 4,000 teachers and more than 1,000 paraprofessionals and still any one case is one case too many. Any time we receive a report of a staff member hurting a student, we investigate thoroughly and take appropriate action up to and including termination."
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
A city spokesperson told FOX6 News the following:
"We will give any notice of claim our full attention once or if received, but we don’t comment on threatened or pending litigation.."
The Source: Information in this post was provided, in part, by Milwaukee Public Schools.