A teenage boy and girl will not be criminally charged in connection with a classroom tussle at a Rialto Unified middle school that was partially recorded on video and widely seen on social media.
In a statement Tuesday, March 25, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said his office declined to file charges against either eighth-grader for the mutual combat that occurred March 10 at Jehue Middle School in Colton. Anderson said he hoped both students “can move on from this.”
The student-recorded video, posted to various social media accounts days after the incident, showed a male Latino student restraining a much smaller Black female student, pressing his hand against her head and holding her down. He released her and pushed her into a table.
The girl then grabbed a laptop computer off the table, spun around and threw it at the boy, who then grabbed her and slammed her, head first, into the table. She fell to the floor and was momentarily still before another student helped her up. Students were heard shouting racial epithets during the fracas.
Colton police Sgt. Mike Sandoval said the girl was cited for felony assault with a deadly weapon and the boy for misdemeanor battery. He described the girl as the aggressor in the attack, having struck the boy several times in the head with a steel water bottle before the rest of the fight was caught on video.
Following the posting of the incident on social media, Black political and community activists advocating for the female student held a news conference outside the school on March 13, demanding justice.
Samuel Casey, senior pastor of the New Life Christian Church and executive director of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, or COPE, commended Anderson for the decision not to file charges.
“From the beginning, we said it wasn’t a case the D.A.’s office should be handling, or the police,” Casey said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “We celebrate Jason Anderson for taking proper action that leaves the young lady and the young man whole and opens the way toward healing. But we still are devastated that a young man would feel comfortable putting his hands on a young girl in that way.”
While police said the video did not show the girl striking the boy in the head with the water bottle, Casey said the video also did not show the male student provoking the girl by splashing water on her and other students with a squirt gun before the attack. He said racial tensions against Blacks at the school are not specific to Jehue but are districtwide, based on what other district students and parents have told him.
“How do we work to improve the systems in schools that makes Black students feel valued, seen, heard and safe, as well as Black staff?” Casey asked. He the girl involved in the fracas at Jehue was the only Black student in the classroom that day; the other was absent.
Anderson said that while it did not factor into his office’s decision not to file charges, no party involved in the incident or their families desired prosecution.
“My expectation is that both children can move on from this and will not be defined by the conduct,” Anderson said in his statement. “I am confident that the school district will continue to take the proper steps to assist these students and ensure measures are in place to avoid similar circumstances in the future.”
Rialto Unified School District spokeswoman Syeda Jafri said in a statement Tuesday that the district “appreciates the timely and sound decision” made by Anderson. She said she could not comment on the enrollment status of the students.
“The District will continue to promote a school climate building on a safe and nurturing environment where all our students have the opportunities to thrive,” Jafri said.
The I.E. Black Women’s Collective, in partnership with C.O.P.E., Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches and the I.E. Black Equity Initiative, are hosting a “Community Day of Support” for the girl involved in the fight at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 16th Street Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Bernardino.
Lanae Norwood, co-founder of IE Black Women’s Collective and Black Parent Alliance, also commended Anderson for “making the right decision,” but also said in a statement Tuesday that the organizations she is involved with will continue advocating for reforms in schools and the juvenile justice system.
“Our goal is to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future, and if they cannot be avoided, to respond with restorative justice,” Norwood said, adding that systems need to be in place that teach students conflict resolution, mutual respect, accountability and how to repair harm.
“Additionally, the racial aspect of the attack has not been adequately addressed. Many students have reported ongoing, deep-rooted racial tensions on school campuses,” Norwood said. She said what happened to the girl is merely one example of a larger issue reflecting deeper systemic and institutional problems.
Norwood said Anderson’s decision not to pursue charges “does not equate to justice” for the girl, but should be viewed as “a necessary course correction to prevent further harm to a child.”
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