JPSB and JPSO being sued over alleged use of ‘force and intimidation’ to a student with disabilities
31st May 2022 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
The ACLU of Louisiana and Tulane University Civil Rights and Federal Practice Clinic are suing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson Parish School Board on behalf of a 10-year-old student with disabilities after school and law enforcement officials allegedly used force and intimidation, including a chokehold and denial of parental access, to forcibly subdue rather than calm the upset student.
The lawsuit, Hutchinson-Harper v. Jefferson Parish School Board et al., was filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana United States District Court on May 9, as part of the ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab Project targeting cases of police abuse and excessive force throughout the state. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the student and his parents/loved ones.
Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana, said the case is unique to the Justice Lab Project so far because it involves an incident that took place on school grounds and, as a result, includes both school officials and law enforcement representatives as defendants.
She said the brunt of the lawsuit alleges violations of federal law regarding people with disabilities. She said the student was severely disciplined and ultimately abused because of a situation that triggered and aggravated his disabilities. She said the defendants punished the student unfairly and cruelly, especially given his recognized challenges with emotions and social interactions.
“They were actions [by the defendants] that only precipitated a negative reaction [from the student],” she said. “It turned from an incident at school to calls to the police, who then arrived and used force” on the 10-year-old.
The ACLU is partnering with the Tulane Civil Rights and Federal Practice Clinic to bring the case. Lucia Blacksher Ranier, director of the Tulane clinic, said that school officials and police severely misjudged the situation in question and chose force and arrest over compassion and de-escalation.
“The important part is that the school immediately called the police instead of trying to calm [the student] down,” she said. “The police then immediately used force even though the student was not posing a threat.”
At the time of the incident, the student, who is Black, attended Congetta Trippe Janet Elementary School in Marrero, where the incident, alleged in the lawsuit, took place on May 13, 2021. (The student is now enrolled at Marrero Middle School, another facility in the Jefferson Parish School System.)
School officials, including its principal, were aware of J.H.’s disabilities, and the school had an Individualized Education Plan that spelled out the student’s disabilities and outlined a strategy for adapting to and allowing for his disabilities during his educational process.
According to the lawsuit, J.H. is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, a mood disorder and emotional outburst, and his situation is also applicable under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the suit states.
According to the lawsuit, J.H.’s disabilities severely impair his daily functioning; the impairments “make it significantly more difficult for him to manage his response to frustration; to control his anger; to express his emotions, wants, and needs; and to adjust to social and physical transitions.”
In addition, the disabilities “substantially limit several of his major life activities, including learning, thinking, concentrating, interacting with others, controlling his emotions, and communicating.”
On May 13, 2021, however, J.H., who is often bullied by fellow students because of his disabilities, was taunted and bothered by a classmate who was subsequently not reprimanded by the teacher. J.H. became upset, which exacerbated his disabilities, causing J.H. to began breathing heavily and yelling in class out of anger and frustration at the situation.
Following this, J.H. was eating lunch in the principal’s office – which the student routinely did – but refused to eat his lunch at this time because he was still upset and distraught. He threw several small items out of frustration and anger to the seemingly callous and unsympathetic reaction of school officials. Instead of calling a school counselor, asking J.H. why he was upset or otherwise mitigating the symptoms of his disabilities, the principal threatened further discipline.
The threats further angered the student, causing him to strike the principal, who did not fall or exhibit injuries as a result of the blow, and walk outside, where he threw a trash can at a window, breaking it.
As this happened, according to the lawsuit, the principal and several school officials “could see that J.H. was experiencing symptoms of his disabilities because he was in distress, emotionally distraught, unreasonable, and non-communicative.”
The school officials eventually called 911 instead of taking any substantial actions to attempt an in-school, on-site de-escalation of the situation.
The lawsuit alleges that the school officials mischaracterized the student’s actions, making his behavior seem more malevolent and injurious than it actually was.
As JPSO deputies arrived, J.H., with tears streaming down his face and a scared, blank look in his eyes, was walking away from the school and not presenting a danger or threat to himself or others.
According to the suit, “J.H. was disassociating, non-communicative, and clearly manifesting symptoms of his disabilities,” and the arriving deputies were aware that he was disabled, on medication, clearly in distress and posing no threats to anyone.
However, instead of attempting to interact with the boy or with school administrators to assess and de-escalate the situation, JPSO Sgt. Steven Trapani forcibly grabbed J.H. by the arm.
The student pulled away in fear, prompting Trapani to seize the 10-year-old, 93-pound student in a chokehold and pull him down. Trapani then allegedly dragged J.H., who was now handcuffed, on the ground tightly handcuffed him. All these police actions occurred without any attempt to allow for the symptoms of his J.H.’s disabilities.
Using abusive language deputies then interrogated him in the principal’s office and tried to force him to make a statement, all the while keeping J.H. in tight handcuffs and denying the attempts of his parents, other family and friends to see him.
J.H., frightened and separated from his parents, was then placed in a police car, taken to the juvenile detention and booked with several charges while his arms were cuffed and legs in restraints, J.H. was then held in a cell for roughly four hours in which he was denied food, water or access to his parents.
Upon finally being released that evening, J.H. was taken by his parents to Children’s Hospital for evaluation and sent home that night.
However, J.H. almost immediately displayed signs of significant traumatization as a result of the entire terrifying incident, including developing an intense fear of law enforcement officers so severe that, in one post-arrest incident, he ran inside when officers drove by while J.H. was outside playing basketball.
“Any encounter with police triggers negative emotional responses in him,” Ahmed said, “and the family has noticed a change in his demeanor.”
The complaint says that “[a]s a direct and proximate result of the intentional acts of the Defendants described above, J.H. suffered extreme emotional distress, and continues to suffer from shock, distress, anguish, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.” It adds that “[d]efendants’ acts and omissions were extreme and outrageous, malicious, and done with the specific intent to harm J.H. and/or with reckless disregard for the consequences of their acts and omissions.”
JPSO media relations officials did not answer multiple attempts to contact them for comment by The Louisiana Weekly.
A spokesperson for the Jefferson Parish School Board said that schools cannot comment on pending litigation. She also declined to discuss the School Board’s policies regarding the treatment and education of students with disabilities.
However, according to Jefferson Parish School Board written policies, the School Board teams with the public and police “in a cooperative endeavor, to formulate a plan of action by all agencies for when law enforcement or other police agencies are needed to respond to criminal elements or behavior on school campuses, resolve disputes, or perform policing functions.”
Regarding the arrest of students on school grounds, School Board policies give much leeway to policy when handling students.
“Whenever a law enforcement agency is called to assist in resolving any school problem, the law enforcement officers, upon arrival, shall have complete control and jurisdiction over all phases of the investigation of the incident,” it states.
Concerning “education of students with exceptionalities,” the School Board “shall establish and maintain policies and procedures in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations to ensure that students with exceptionalities and their parents are provided the necessary procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of free appropriate public education by the School Board.”
However, the policies do allow for seclusion or physical restraint if necessary, and outline the procedures, guidelines and reporting of disruptive incidents.
“The School Board fully supports the use of positive behavior interventions and support when addressing student behavior,” the policies state. “The School Board reserves its right, however, to use physical restraint and/or seclusion consistent with state law to address the behavior of a student with an exceptionality when school personnel reasonably believe the behavior poses an imminent risk of harm to the student or others.”
The ACLU’s Ahmed said that one main goal of the lawsuit extends beyond J.H. and his family and into society as a whole by hopefully helping to cause a paradigm shift in the way young Louisiana students – especially students of color and ones with disabilities – are treated and educated.
“Ideally we can prevent that type of incident from ever happening again,” she said. “Hopefully a student’s disability will be taken into consideration.”
This article originally published in the May 30, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
