14 yr old throws 5 yr old over bus seat. 70 yr old attendant charged with abuse.. ...

[madfloridian]

and faces a possible prison sentence.

There is a video there at the link. I find the whole thing sad and pathetic. It just goes to show who has the power now. The 14 year old has total control of the situation, though he was sent to her bus because he was a discipline problem. The lady did the wrong thing....but the article mentions no consequences at all for the student who threw a 5 year old over a bus seat.

Ex-School Bus Attendant Charged With Abuse

Investigative reports say the 14-year-old boy was horsing around and tossed a 5-year-old boy over a bus seat. The 5-year-old boy's feet accidentally struck Branch, reports state.

...""I hate it's happened," Branch told police. "I really do … But he had set fear in me, 'cause he was always threatening me and every time he passed by me he tried to hit me in the face. And walk off and laugh."

Branch said the boy was transferred to her bus for disciplinary problems, and she had written him up at least four times.

...Branch was arrested July 8 and was released the next day from jail on $10,000 bail, records show. A trial date has not been set.

Branch faces a charge of child abuse. The third-degree felony carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.

And what about the student?

Maybe I missed his consequences for throwing a 5-year old over the bus seat.

On Edit: A parent adds a superb comment after the article. I am impressed.

"As the mother of a disabled 7 year old who rides the school bus in Polk County -- my question is -- WHY IS THIS VIOLENT 14 YEAR BOY STILL ON THE BUS with a 5 year old and with disabled children? This boy was written up 4 times by Miss Hattie, and apparently authorities did NOTHING to provide for the safety of the children on this bus, not to mention Miss Hattie's safety. For goodness sake -- who's more guilty of child abuse -- the 14 year old throwing a 5 year old over a seat, or the 70 year old Grandma who comes to the small child's rescue? Yes, her actions did get a little out of hand, but if this boy was a constant threat to the small children, and NOTHING was being done about it, it's understandable that she lost it. Please, LEDGER, follow up on this story to discover what Polk County schools and prosecutors doing about this boy (and others) endangering children like mine and the dear ladies on the bus who take care of him."

[Odin2005]

1. And I'm sure the fucker's parents think he's a perfect little angel.

That's the way it usually is, violent kid gets disciplined, the parents then go apeshit at the admins for DARING to accuse their little angel. :eyes:

[RandySF]

2. I learned the hard way to never confront a parent.

I once asked a parent, in a very friendly manner, to talk to her brat about picking on my son. She came unglued and I thought there was going to be an adult throw-down right there in the school yard.

[madfloridian]

3. Once an obviously drunk parent attacked me verbally, heading toward physical.

She was screaming so loudly that some of the male teachers came to my rescue and stood beside me. She backed off eventually, but she went to the principal. She said I was picking on her son. I wasn't and had many witnesses to that effect.

The principal told me that I should never upset parents. I told her I wanted the union rep with me before we went further. She backed down. She knew the parent had a habit of coming to the school either high or drunk....once she even went after the school secretaries.

The kid really suffered because of all this. He was a neat kid with a sorry home life. He told me later he was sorry about his mother yelling at me. Kind of sad.

[Odin2005]

5. UFFDA!!! Wow!

:hug:

[madfloridian]

11. Things like that happened often at that school.

We all grew to expect it.

[LiberalFighter]

43. No policy prohibiting drunk or drugged people being on school grounds?

[madfloridian]

45. Not really.

Once had a conference with the principal and counselor and a parent who was so high she was giggling. They seemed unaware of her condition.

[MedicalAdmin]

60. Did you or the principal report the mother for suspected neglect

... or abuse? I would have but then again I don't know all the circumstances.

You did the right thing by asking for a REP.


It might just have been my experience but I have as of yet to meet a principle who understood where their spine was. Which is a pity.


I think the only thing we can do is organize and start to take over public life again starting with school boards and local offices.

[REP]

74. ...you called?

[Nay]

24. LOL! Same thing happened to me...ended up telling her that my lawyer

was gonna be talking to her lawyer if the sh*t didn't stop. It did. But parents out there! Lots of whackadoodles.

[MedicalAdmin]

61. Parents? I don't think so.

Parents do the fucking job.

I would call them breeders at best.

[liberalhistorian]

35. That's why I tried really hard not to be that way about

my son. He has Asperger's and had some difficulty controlling himself when he was younger, so there were issues sometimes. I knew, though, that sometimes people misconstrued things or picked up him precisely because he was an aspie, so I would listen carefully and get all sides of the story, including my son's, before doing anything. I wanted to be a supportive advocate for my son, but I wasn't going to let him get away with any shit or mistreat others either. He knew that and it worked pretty well while he was growing up. He was generally really good once he got past the middle and junior high school bullshit. He did have some issues once in awhile with teachers or administrators not understanding him and being biased against him, but not often. I cannot stand parents like that mother you describe and one of the many reasons I didn't follow my parents' footsteps into education was because I didn't want to deal with that shit.

[RaleighNCDUer]

55. Where do you think the brats learn that behavior? nt

[MedicalAdmin]

59. I gusss I'm not the kind to back down.

Which is partly why I'm not a teacher anymore.

[liberalhistorian]

34. My teacher parents dealt with that shit all the time from

parents. NOTHING was the little darling's fault, it was always all the other students, or the teacher's, or the principal's, or the cafeteria for not serving Johnny's favorite dessert correctly, etc., etc., etc.

Problem is, because administrators are afraid of parents, they will side with the parents no matter what the story is too much of the time. I remember a parent once screaming that she was going to get my dad fired for giving darling Johnny a bad grade on a paper, never mind that he almost never came to class and never did the homework and turned in a shit paper that had nothing to do with the actual assignment. She actually went to the board about it. My parents dealt with that shit all the time, and people wonder why teachers need tenure??????

[MedicalAdmin]

62. Spinelessness starts at the top.

If the board had a spine, then the supervisor and principals would too. And they would back up the teachers (when they deserve it).

Leadership is sadly lacking in too many places these days.

[Blue_Tires]

38. That's a big part of it...

Seen it on way too many occasions as a sub teacher...

[MedicalAdmin]

69. I had a little speech that I used to give back when I was a sub.

Hi, my name is Mr. **** and I only have 3 rules and if you respect them, we will get along and I will respect you. Do you think you can live with that for the rest of the period? If a kid answered no I would say immediately, "then you gotta leave ... unless you were joking around. Were you joking around?" (most times they would admit to joking around).

Rule one: don't burn down or otherwise destroy the room, building, or the kid sitting next to you. (this was to get their attention, because most sub teachers seemed to have a stick up their butts IMHO)

Rule two: keep the volume down to dull roar.

Rule three: don't get in the way of any other kid learning. This is the only rule that I am serious about. It is my job to teach and it is your choice to learn. You don't want to learn - fine. But it is my job, and I have no choice in this, to make sure that those who want to learn, get to. So this is really the only rule that counts. "


This seemed to work among inner city kids who respected that I was respecting them and setting realistic and honest rules that could be followed. On the other hand I have a huge tolerance for chaos.

[JI7]

4. i saw this video, if the bus driver was some big guy i might feel differently

and i'm not saying what the driver did was ok. but i just can't feel too upset over it.

but i also want to know what happened to the 14 year old who was phsyically stronger than the driver. i wonder about his parents also. i will feel even more disgusted if i hear they are suing .

[madfloridian]

12. If I remember correctly....

I think that there is a law that some categories of emotionally handicapped can be held accountable for their actions in a legal way. They may have changed that since I retired....hope so. It was too cut and dried the way it used to be. I just don't know how it is now.

[madfloridian]

6. Yay, a parent writes in the comments. She is so right on about this. Good for her.

"As the mother of a disabled 7 year old who rides the school bus in Polk County -- my question is -- WHY IS THIS VIOLENT 14 YEAR BOY STILL ON THE BUS with a 5 year old and with disabled children? This boy was written up 4 times by Miss Hattie, and apparently authorities did NOTHING to provide for the safety of the children on this bus, not to mention Miss Hattie's safety. For goodness sake -- who's more guilty of child abuse -- the 14 year old throwing a 5 year old over a seat, or the 70 year old Grandma who comes to the small child's rescue? Yes, her actions did get a little out of hand, but if this boy was a constant threat to the small children, and NOTHING was being done about it, it's understandable that she lost it. Please, LEDGER, follow up on this story to discover what Polk County schools and prosecutors doing about this boy (and others) endangering children like mine and the dear ladies on the bus who take care of him."

Thanks to that parent for being so right on.

[AverageJoe90]

18. Kudos to her!

Unfortunately, I also saw quite a few comments that actually COMMENDED her for going too far, or that kids supposedly 'don't respect their elders'(which is a bunch of stereotypical crap and I think most of these losers know it).........who wants to bet most of these dumbasses are Republicans?

I did see a couple more intelligent comments, though:

"If a parent did that to their child they would be in jail and their children removed from their home! Sounds like this kid needs help with his behavior/emotions... If he was put on this bus because of his behavior I would think the driver and attendant both would be trained to deal with this sort of behavior! She looked/acted like a wild person to me in this video. Sticks and Stones......... you know the rest. Glad she isn't on a bus with any more children!" -Karen McCall Williams

"I totally agree with you!!!!! The child was wrong in the way he acted previously BUT he is a child. She is an ADULT BIG difference, she should know better. She is setting a terrible example. Someone previously said that other child on the bus were special needs, who's to say the 14 yearold wasn't either. Shame on her!!!!" Lindsay Cheek.

"Are you kidding me? NO one puts there hands on a child! You report the incident to the proper people! NOT BITE, Pull Hair or Punch the Child! DO that to MY child and ALL HELL will break loose! SHE deserves to be thrown in PRISON for that...Think of it this way...What would you have done if she did that to YOUR child?" -Jessie Warner

This one is one of my favorites:

"The 14 yearold should have been kicked of long ago and had no right to act that way. However the attendant is also the adult in this situation and should have know better. What kind of example does she set for the other children who were behaving on the bus? A person who works at a school in any position is held to a higher standard because they are working with and instructing children, she knew of these standards and chose not to live up them. It can get frustrating, but getting violent NEVER helps the situation." -Lindsay Cheek

[Darth_Kitten]

29. I'm glad the 70 year old woman kicked his obnoxious ass.

:)

[ellisonz]

7. She should have seperated the 5-year-old from him and gone to the higher-ups.

[madfloridian]

8. She already had 4 times. Something is seriously wrong.

She may go to jail while a 14 yr old terrorizes a 5 yr old child.

[ellisonz]

14. Lot of good snapping and getting violent did her then...

There were better ways to handle this than what she did.

[provis99]

16. no, there are no other ways.

The way to deal with the kid had been tried 4 times; it resulted in squat.
He'll get to the point where he pushes some little kid into traffic, killing him, whereupon he will be given a death sentence, when the whole thing could have been handled by adults.

[Darth_Kitten]

30. Oh, right, like we can all sit back and judge her.

Sometimes people snap, it has been known to happen.

[LanternWaste]

32. Hindsight allows us the comfort and convenience of judging the actions

I imagine every situation we are presented with has options better than the ones we choose at that time whilst under pressure.

Hindsight certainly allows us the comfort and convenience of judging the actions of another person without any knowledge at all (merely faith) of whether we may or may not have done precisely the same thing ourselves...

[Drahthaardogs]

81. Like what?

A fourteen year old physically throwing a five year old? She was protecting a baby from a bully as well as herself. Do you have kids? My fifteen year old boy is 6ft. 190 lbs. How would you feel as a parent if I let him go throw your five year old around the room? I bet you would be happy if someone physically stopped him. This woman should be commended not punished. I hope this goes to court, no jury will convict her.

[Darth_Kitten]

88. Yes, have parents actually raise their own children properly.

But since that didn't happen....

[Blue_Tires]

39. I don't know why the school system doesn't revise their policy

When I was in grade school (late 80s) three incident reports (fighting/cussing/jumping, etc.) meant getting kicked off the bus for the rest of the year...I knew I was gonna catch HELL if I had to make my parents change their work schedules to drop me off and pick me up...

The bus driver had a lot of leeway to determine the severity of the infraction as well...

[pacalo]

9. For those who charged her with "abuse", who was supposed to look out for the 5 yr. old?

The troublemaker, who was taller than the bus driver, wasn't going to stop or listen to the bus driver. The behavior would have continued unchecked & the entire bus would be unsafe due to the free-for-all this troublemaker was causing.

Now that the bus driver has been charged for protecting a small child, should small children riding with older behavior problems be expected to wear helmets to protect them when they are manhandled? And what would the school's insurance company have to say about this behavior allowed on the bus while the bus driver is expected to drive children to & from school safely?

[madfloridian]

10. Good point. Someone should have been protecting the 5 yr old.

The attendant tried, though her methods were faulty. Now she may be going to jail.

[TheMadMonk]

15. There's at least one assumption being made which might not be true.

That the 14 YO had been previously written up for assults on the same child.

It does seem that the younger child was, at least to begin with, giggling and not particularly distressed at the time, whatever happened later. It may well be that an appropriate initial response might have been to explain why it's dangerous to wrestle on a moving bus.

Biting was entirely inappropriate. And it could well be argued, that no matter what sort of a little shit he was under other circumstances, his own actions were in part defensive, and in part rage that came later rather than sooner in the conflict.

All that said, there is nothing good to be said about leaving a Little Old Lady, no matter how feisty, to ride herd solo on children with major behavioural issues. Management level bears ultimate responsibility.

[pacalo]

19. It's too bad the bus driver lost her cool, but I hope there will be full investigation

into the 14-yr.-old's behavior history that may extenuate the charges. I do believe she had complained about this student many times without result.

But I agree that biting was entirely inappropriate.

The officials will hopefully remedy this situation with the goal of preventing the kind of behavior that led to the driver's frustration.

[madfloridian]

25. No, the officials will not remedy the problem with the 14 yr old.

They had plenty of time to do so.

No one is saying biting is appropriate, none of her behavior was.

Did you see the way he tossed that 5 yr old viciously over the seat? It was in the video.

He will get away with it. Just like he has before.

[pacalo]

28. My comment about the biting was in response to

Mad Monk's comment about the biting.

I'm on the bus driver's side. Driving is serious business, especially with a busload of children. There should be zero tolerance of that boy's brand of behavior on a school bus. He should be banned from riding a bus, considering he has been kicked off of a number of other buses previously.

[Arkansas Granny]

58. If he had been written up 4 times previously, does it really matter whether it

was the same child or not? He is a habitual troublemaker and nothing was being done about his behaviour.

[LiberalFighter]

44. I wonder what would be the consequences for the school district

if the parents of the kids on that school bus pulled their kids out of school because the school failed to protect the kids?

Here in Indiana funding of schools is based on students enrolled on the 3rd Friday in September. If funding is based the same for that school district and the incident occurred before the date it could be an effective tool.

[madfloridian]

13. Still looking for any consequences to the 14 yr old boy.

I can not even find a mention of anything.

[AverageJoe90]

17. This 14-year-old kid is a complete asshole, but.......

what in the hell was Ms. Branch thinking when she BEAT him? God knows that kind of shit solves nothing, and frankly, I think she deserves some discipline.
But you know something? So does that IDIOT KID who thought it was okay to bounce around a 5 year old.

[madfloridian]

27. She WILL be disciplined. Probably go to jail. He won't be disciplined.

That's the way it works.

[Selatius]

33. Thugs like that 14 year old made many other teenagers and kids suffer through school.

Things won't get better until they are forced to account for their actions. It's apparent even at a young age that thugs don't respect anything but force. The sooner that unruly kid gets to account for his wrongs, the sooner he'll stop beating down fellow students.

[AverageJoe90]

64. Let's look at their family lives too.

Many don't realize this vital truth, but many thugs, especially hardcore ones, were abused, either at home, or school, or possibly both. That does not, of course, excuse their actions, but it is important to realize the truth........the vast majority of these thugs are largely that way because their parents set a very bad example by beating them and such.

[AverageJoe90]

63. Even though he did throw around a 5-year-old kid?

[lib2DaBone]

20. Until you've worked on a school bus with "discipline problems"..

you can't imagine what goes on.

I had one 10 year old boy who atabbed another boy thru the hand with a sharp pencil.. he just laughed about it. Blood was everywhere.. the kid was screaming. I was driving down the freeway at 55 mph and I was supposed to "Control" the situation and drive the bus at the same time.

Rule #1.. the driver is ALWAYS wrong.

Ruile #2.. the bullies are always right

Rule #3.. Don't expect any support from the Media or School officials.

I say do away with school buses and go back to neighborhood schools. Millions of dollars would be saved and the kids would get needed exercise. (I know.. we have had this argument since the 60's... 60's and nothing has changed)

[Fumesucker]

22. You want kids out walking on today's roads with texting drivers everywhere?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of the school bus, but I had the experience of watching my brother hit and nearly killed by a car while we were walking home from the "neighborhood school", in fact for a couple of minutes I thought my brother was dead.

It didn't help that the driver of the car immediately went into hysterics and two twelve year olds had to handle the extreme emergency situation while the only adult on the scene had an emotional meltdown.

An experience like that leaves a lasting impression.

[madfloridian]

36. "Rule #3.. Don't expect any support from the Media or School officials."

"Rule #2 ..the bullies are always right"

"Rule #3.. Don't expect any support from the Media or School officials."

Just about the truth.

[FLAprogressive]

21. Put this kid on a poster that asks "Are you SURE you want to outlaw abortion?"

[Firebrand Gary]

23. Good for her.

[Evasporque]

26. Buses in Milwaukee stop...driver radio's in and they send police.

If kids threaten or assault the driver in anyway....the bus is stopped, locked and the cops take the threatening kid away...and the kid is kicked off the busing system permanently and gets suspended from school...pretty effective policy...

[Aerows]

31. I was harassed on the bus

And when I finally complained about it, *I* was the bad guy. My mother made them let me off the bus at the family business it was so bad. I had guys exposing themselves to me - I was a 14 year old girl. It was a train wreck.

[saras]

37. If the bus driver had been issued a Taser, there'd be no problem, right?

What needed to happen (ignoring previous incidents) is that the 14-year-old needed to be stopped, instantly and completely, from abusing anyone, using however much force was necessary. AFTER he was stopped from harming anyone, THEN verbal negotiation, reports to authorities, etc. can begin.

Unfortunately the bus driver simply wasn't equipped to do what was necessary, and is getting dumped on for using what was available instead.

It's important not to confuse behavior, which may need to be controlled in the moment, with something like crime or guilt, which has to be established through procedure.

[Tipring]

95. Tazer??

No cattle prod, there cheaper and once hit he would be very easy to deal with.

[russspeakeasy]

40. It is a damn travesty, but it's the easiest thing to do and if there

is one thing that school boards and police and politicians like to do,
it's the easy thing...kind of like signing trade agreements without reading them; it's easier that way.

[WI_DEM]

41. feel bad for the driver, but eventually if he continues the 14-year old punk will wind up in jail.

the question is who will he hurt or worse to lead him there unless something is done.

[snooper2]

42. I guess everybody is watching a different video than I am...WTF

You can cleary hear the the five year old laughing and having fun from 21-25 seconds in the video. That wasn't a throw, they were playing around.


The exact same sounds my two year old makes when we wrestle around. The this ignorant @#$^$^ starts going nuts all over his ass biting him with her dentures. She's lucky he didn't punch her in the throat.

[madfloridian]

46. That was a throw. The younger kid could have been seriously hurt.

It's not funny.

[wellst0nev0ter]

47. Say That Again When It's Your Kids Being Thrown Over The Bus Seats

Well, you yourself may not mind, but I'm pretty sure your outnumbered by other parents who will be understandably horrified.

[snooper2]

52. It was more of a roll...they were playing...but it's all fine...

The lady will get what's coming to her for acting like a fucking idiot

[madfloridian]

56. That outrageous statement....

means I say good bye to you. Life is too short for such drivel.

[snooper2]

57. mkay...life is pretty long actually

Especially when compared to say, a pantry moth :rofl:

[AngkorWot]

48. "missed the consequences for throwing the five year old over the bus seat"

Maybe because they don't typically discuss punishment of minors with media.

Besides, what do you think the punishment should be for rather minor roughhousing and horseplay?

[madfloridian]

49. "rather minor roughhousing and horseplay"

Really?

[AngkorWot]

66. Yeah, really.

The only reason I can think of your exaggerations is a weird, mis-guided attempt to blame the victim.

[ooglymoogly]

54. In the defense of bullys and fascism. Yeaaaaaah!!!!

just say'n.

[AngkorWot]

68. lol

:eyes:

[AverageJoe90]

65. This kid could have been seriously hurt, though.

[AngkorWot]

67. Sure, it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.

That's the rather standard argument in lecturing against rough-housing and horse play.

[ooglymoogly]

83. This 5 year old could have had a broken neck or a paralyzing

spinal injury...She should have called the police and pressed charges for dangerous assault, but in this imperfect world we live in, I can't say I blame her for cuffing the blossoming fascist bully around to teach him a lesson.

[ooglymoogly]

50. Why would they do that, Polk county is bloody red.

The 14 year old has the making of a puke fascist. The grandmother is obviously defending justice and dimes to dough nuts is a Democrat.

And that's the way it is in Florida.

After being stopped several times in Fl. just to rudely have my car searched and learning of the constabulary planting dope just to make an arrest (rampant in the south) and;

After seeing what Florida was capable of and watching the horrors perpetrated in the south;

I sold my house long ago, and no longer go anywhere near the south.

As a senior with all the hardships of aging, I would rather hobble around in the harsh winters of the east, than support fascism to winter in a beautiful climate where the bones and muscles are able to breath and relax.

The risks for a Democrat in Florida or anywhere in the south are just too great.

I think that is the way they want it.

[colorado_ufo]

51. I wish Ms. Hattie luck!

Yes, she got out of control; but that very large, undisciplined 14-year-old boy (who is old enough to be prosecuted as an adult in some circumstances) surely didn't expect gray-haired, 70-year-old Ms. Hattie to open up a can of whup-ass on him! If any good comes out of this, this boy will likely think twice before he chooses to bully anyone, as he now has the unexpected as his fear factor.

[ooglymoogly]

53. I'm betting that, if there was a fund for her defense;

like me, many on this site would be happy to send a few bucks.

[madfloridian]

70. He was put on the bus with young children as a discipline method??

I would like to know who thought that was a good idea.

From the woman's lawyer:

"The school bus is filled with special needs kids. These are students with physical, mental and behavioral issues. Williamson says,"He was on the school bus with younger kids for disciplinary reasons."

http://gafamiliesagainstrestaint.blogspot.com/2011/10/video-woman-70-beats-boy-on-bus-news.html

SO...how'd that disciplinary tactic work for you school officials in Polk County? Is it worth trying to send a 70 yr old woman to jail?

Brilliant effing idea! :wow:

[MadHound]

71. One good thing about being a big guy in the education biz,

You can intimidate little piss ant bullies like this fourteen year old with a look and a couple of well placed words. Worked everytime back in the day when I drove bus for a couple of years.

Thankfully, the school I'm teaching at has seriously engaged parents, and such activity on the part of the fourteen year old simply would not be tolerated by any of the parents of kids who attend my school.

[FreedomRain]

72. management approved

Anyone with a hand in putting a 14 yr old discipline problem on a bus with 5 year olds needs to be summarily fired.

I drove an elementary & junior high school bus for 3 years, it was really a fun job, but when admin doesn't help there is a huge safety issue.

[Jefferson23]

73. A 14 year old with a history and the school puts him on this bus with

a driver not equipped to deal with him. On a bus with children with disabilities tells me there may be a dx
on him; either way, to lump him in with this population is inappropriate on many levels.

If the parents of the 5 year old sue the school, will be interesting what they discover about the 14 year olds record, considering
confidentiality.

Important to learn if a behavioral plan was in place etc. and who in the hell thought this bus arrangement would work even after the driver filed complaints.


On the matter of the bus driver, she will need a very good attorney.

[Gabi Hayes]

75. nice life for a 70 year old to have to be driving a fricking bus.

she should ask to go to prison in Norway

[REP]

76. Would a PARENT be lauded for going apeshit and beating/biting a 14 year old? I think not.

Since when is losing control and beating/biting the accepted way to discipline an asshole child? Yes, this kid sounds like an asshole who was being provocative. Good work, Granny - you took the bait and lost control. Assholes come in all ages.

[madfloridian]

77. That is a pathetic misunderstanding of the whole situation.

And a really big misunderstanding of the OP.

Yes, indeed, there are assholes everywhere.

[REP]

80. Is it now.

Really.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

[ooglymoogly]

84. There is an old saying that a bully mind set will defend another

bully...It's the repuke thing to do

[REP]

85. That explains why so many are defending an out-of-control biting, hitting adult.

[Darth_Kitten]

87. Oh, please.

Everybody has their limits, but why was that troubled kid allowed to be violent time and time again?

[ooglymoogly]

89. The repuke dump, from whence these posts come, is sooooo obvious.

[FLAprogressive]

78. If their dumbshit offspring was attempting to harm a younger sibling, yes. I would laud them.

[REP]

79. Except Grannie thought SHE was the one being provoked; she wasn't defending the 5 year old

Did anyone READ the articles? Was it just me?

[ooglymoogly]

97. Nice rewrite of the facts to defend a bully.

Let me guess; propaganda is your forte?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

82. The 14 years old will likely succeed Allen West someday.....

....when West becomes a Senator or the Governor of Florida.

[jwirr]

86. I would guess that this district is going to have problems getting

bus aides from now on. The 14 year old needs real intervention not just shifting from one bus to another and the school district more than likely does not want to provide it because it will call for a 1-1 situation. I hope someone comes to their senses about the aide.

[ooglymoogly]

90. Granny should sue the district for placing her in a situation

where anyone's cool would be so challenged by such a dangerous misfit.
A recalcitrant bully for whom they had ample and damning proof that trouble was likely to ensue.

[madfloridian]

91. They put the 14 yr old on the bus with younger kids as his punishment.

I want to know who the hell in the county thought that was appropriate?

Reminds me of the time long ago when a teacher nearly got fired hanging a pacifier from the neck of a misbehaving student.

If the 14 yr old is considered emotionally challenged or disabled, whatever the correct terminology is today....then he might get away with anything he does and just be shifted around the system.

[jwirr]

92. Exactly. IF they keep him in the schools then he needs more supervision

than a 70 year old attendant who is taking care of the other children on the bus.

[Name removed]

93. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TBF]

94. Well the biting in retaliation was a little crazy -

but I can't imagine any jury convicting her (I wouldn't). The 14-yr old's bullying should have been addressed seriously rather than moving him from bus to bus.

[ooglymoogly]

98. These are the actions of someone who had reached a breaking

point. There was no premeditation. But; in Florida you can never bet on how the chosen ignorance of a jury and the ruthless slickness of an R DA will turn out.

[madfloridian]

99. I can imagine it. In Polk County anything is possible.

[madfloridian]

96. Why did the prosecutors release the video now?

It happened in June, but the prosecutors just now released the video. Why?

http://www.wpbf.com/news/29464658/detail.html

Trying to judge her in public?

"Prosecutors say video from a camera on a Polk County school bus shows Hattie Branch fighting with a 14-year-old student in June. The video was released by prosecutors.

The student had just flipped a younger boy over a seat and the boy's feet hit Branch while she was in the aisle."

Read more: http://www.wpbf.com/news/29464658/detail.html#ixzz1amBWX1nv