Richmond Va. school security guards faces charges of assaulting student
RICHMOND, Va. June 8 2017 – A Richmond student went to the hospital Tuesday morning and said his injuries were from the security guard.
Malachi Dunbar is in seventh grade at Elkhart/Thompson Middle School. He said that most of his class saw the incident that occurred Tuesday.
Dunbar said the bruises and scratches are from the school security guard. The incident started, according to Dunbar, when the guard told him to go to the classroom.
“As I walked into the classroom, he walked behind me and then the teacher said ‘I’m not dealing with him today,’” Dunbar alleged. “So, then he walked in behind me and told everyone to exit the classroom.”
He said when the security guard took out a pair of gloves from his back pocket and put them on, he told the guard he would comply and asked the man not touch him.
“And then, as I moved my shoulder away,” Dunbar said. “Then, that’s when he had slammed me to the ground and one other security guard they both got on top of me and put my arms behind my back as he put me in a choke hold.”
The two security guards escorted Dunbar to the principal’s office and a teacher called his father.
Lester Grady showed up thinking his son had gotten into a fight.
“It wasn’t until I got there that I found that it was a grown man that was beating up on my son,” said Lester Grady.
Grady says the principal told him what happened. He admitted his son has been in trouble in the past, but said that nothing justifies such violence.
Malachi Dunbar’s family is pressing charges.
“You don’t expect for the security guards who supposed to be there to protect them to be doing that,” Grady said.
Grady is concerned it could escalate because of overcrowding after Elkhart and Thompson Middle merged two years ago.
“I’ve been in the school and in between classes it’s impossible,” Grady said. “The hallway is so crowded because it’s actually two schools in one.”
Dunbar’s family took him to the hospital Tuesday morning.
“The teachers are having a terrible time,” he added. “They can’t control the school at all because it’s just too many students.”
Richmond school officials have confirmed they are investigating the incident at Elkhart/Thompson Middle, but could not go into details due to student privacy.
They said disciplinary action will be taken depending on the outcome of this case.
The family said they have filed assault and battery charges against the school security guard.
WTVR
