MADISON — A student who was involved in an altercation last year with a Madison high school assistant principal is suing the Madison Board of Education, the principal, and the assistant principal.
The student is seeking a jury trial and compensation for her injuries and damages, attorney fees, and court costs, according to a lawsuit.
The suit was filed Tuesday in District Court and names the Madison City Schools Board of Education, James Clemens High School principal Brian Clayton, and assistant principal Jason Watts as defendants. The student and her guardian are listed as the plaintiff and are represented by Huntsville attorneys Teri Ryder Mastando and Eric J. Artrip.
When reached for comment, the school board said, in a statement, “Madison City Schools does not not comment on pending litigation or personnel issues.”
The altercation happened in December, when Watts went onto a bus to break up a fight and was hit and bitten. In defending himself, Watts struck the student who was involved in the altercation.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys said the student – identified as Jane Doe – was originally assaulted and was defending herself.
“… Jane Doe boarded the school bus at JCHS to go home and sat down next to a friend, Minor X. Another student, Minor Y, stood up and started to yell at Jane Doe wanting the seat Miss Doe was occupying. Jane Doe responded ‘over a seat?,’ stood up, and began arguing with Minor Z. During the argument, Defendant Watts approached both of the students.
“As a result of the altercation, Minor Y punched Jane Doe in the stomach and was escorted off the bus by Defendant Watts. The SRO was not called.
“After escorting Minor Y off the bus, Defendant Watts reentered the bus as Jane Doe
was trying to exit the bus. He grabbed her wrist and pushed her back into one of the bus seats. While Defendant Watts was standing and Miss Doe seated, Defendant Watts
pushed his forearm into Jane Doe’s face forcing her head back into the seat. The SRO was not called.
“In response to Defendant Watts pushing his forearm into her chin, Jane Doe bit
Defendant Watts on the arm. In retaliation and apparently now at a complete loss over his emotions, Defendant Watts began punching Jane Doe in the face with a closed fist.
“While Defendant Watts was assaulting Miss Doe, Defendant Clayton continued to
stand in the front of the bus. He did not stop Defendant Watts. He did not assist Miss Doe. He did not call the SRO. He stood there.
“With Jane Doe still seated and Defendants Watts still standing, he punched her in the head twice more, apparently with the intent to continue assaulting her,” the lawsuit says.
The suit says the student got off the bus, after Watts exited, and attempted to go to the nurse’s office. But, the suit says, “(t)he SRO then handcuffed Jane Doe and put her into a deputy’s car. She left JCHS in the back of a police vehicle with a severe headache.”
According to the lawsuit, Watts violated the student’s constitutional rights by excessively
punishing her for defending herself from assault by repeatedly punching her in the face.
The suit says, “Defendants Clayton and Watts violated the Plaintiff’s constitutional rights by
retaliating against her, denying her access to school, and placing her in an alternative school setting.
“Plaintiff has been damaged, as she has been caused to suffer physical injury, severe emotional distress, anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, frustration, stress, trauma and concern.”
In a news conference the day after the incident, schools Superintendent Ed Nichols defended Watts.
“Our folks have a tough job,” Nichols said. “I’m never going to tell someone, if they’re being assaulted, they can’t defend themselves.
“We’re going to protect our employees.”
Nichols said, while the bus was loading at the school, the driver called for assistance.
“The driver could sense the altercation was brewing and radioed” administration, the superintendent said. Two students were in the aisle “in each other’s face.”
Nichols said other students were unsuccessful in separating the two students.
“There was a student who helped to defuse the situation,” he said. “We had several students on the bus who were trying to separate them.”
One of the students in the altercation was removed from the bus and, in the attempt to remove the second student, the assistant principal was assaulted.
“He was was hit six to ten times across the back of his head,” Nichols said. He was also bitten twice – once hard enough that it went through his shirt and broke the skin.
While being attacked, the assistant principal swung, making contact with the student.
“The administrator felt a need to defend himself,” Nichols said.
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