{"id":2311,"date":"2019-09-12T16:05:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=2311"},"modified":"2019-09-12T16:05:36","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:05:36","slug":"lakeland-mother-speaks-out-after-sons-assault-by-schoolmates-caught-on-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2019\/09\/12\/lakeland-mother-speaks-out-after-sons-assault-by-schoolmates-caught-on-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakeland mother speaks out after son\u2019s assault by schoolmates caught on video"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" src=\"https:\/\/w3.cdn.anvato.net\/player\/prod\/v3\/anvload.html?key=eyJtIjoiTElOIiwidiI6IjM5MzAyMTUiLCJhbnZhY2siOiJhbnZhdG9fbWNwX2xpbl93ZWJfcHJvZF80YzM2ZmJmZDRkOGQ4ZWNhZTY0ODg2NTZlMjFhYzZkMWFjOTcyNzQ5Iiwic2hhcmVMaW5rIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2ZsYS5jb20vbmV3cy9wb2xrLWNvdW50eS9vZmZpY2lhbHMtYWRkcmVzcy1sYWtlbGFuZC1zY2hvb2wtbG9ja2VyLXJvb20tYXR0YWNrLyIsInBsdWdpbnMiOnsiY29tc2NvcmUiOnsiY2xpZW50SWQiOiI2MDM2NDM5IiwiYzMiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53ZmxhLmNvbSIsInNjcmlwdCI6Ii8vdzMuY2RuLmFudmF0by5uZXQvcGxheWVyL3Byb2QvdjMvcGx1Z2lucy9jb21zY29yZS9jb21zY29yZXBsdWdpbi5taW4uanMiLCJ1c2VEZXJpdmVkTWV0YWRhdGEiOnRydWUsIm1hcHBpbmciOnsidmlkZW8iOnsiYzMiOiJ3ZmxhIiwibnNfc3Rfc3QiOiJ3ZmxhIiwibnNfc3RfcHUiOiJOZXhzdGFyIiwibnNfc3RfZ2UiOiJOZXdzLE5ld3MsTmV3cyxMb2NhbCBOZXdzLFZpZGVvIn0sImFkIjp7ImMzIjoid2ZsYSIsIm5zX3N0X3N0Ijoid2ZsYSIsIm5zX3N0X3B1IjoiTmV4c3RhciIsIm5zX3N0X2dlIjoiTmV3cyxOZXdzLE5ld3MsTG9jYWwgTmV3cyxWaWRlbyJ9fX0sImRmcCI6eyJjbGllbnRTaWRlIjp7ImFkVGFnVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJhZHMuZy5kb3VibGVjbGljay5uZXQvZ2FtcGFkL2Fkcz9zej0xeDEwMDAmaXU9JTJGNTY3OCUyRm1nLndmbGElMkZuZXdzJTJGcG9sa19jb3VudHkmaW1wbD1zJmdkZnBfcmVxPTEmZW52PXZwJm91dHB1dD12bWFwJnVudmlld2VkX3Bvc2l0aW9uX3N0YXJ0PTEmdmlkPXNob3J0X29uZWN1ZSZjbXNpZD0xMjM0JnVybD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy53ZmxhLmNvbSUyRm5ld3MlMkZwb2xrLWNvdW50eSUyRm9mZmljaWFscy1hZGRyZXNzLWxha2VsYW5kLXNjaG9vbC1sb2NrZXItcm9vbS1hdHRhY2slMkYmY2l1X3N6cz03Mjh4OTAlMkMzMDB4MjUwJmFkX3J1bGU9MSZjdXN0X3BhcmFtcz12aWQlM0QzOTMwMjE1JTI2Y21zaWQlM0QyMjk1MzMlMjZ2aWRjYXQlM0QvbmV3cy9wb2xrX2NvdW50eSUyNmJvYl9jayUzRFtib2JfY2tfdmFsXSUyNmRlc2NyaXB0aW9uX3VybCUzRGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LndmbGEuY29tL25ld3MvcG9say1jb3VudHkvb2ZmaWNpYWxzLWFkZHJlc3MtbGFrZWxhbmQtc2Nob29sLWxvY2tlci1yb29tLWF0dGFjay8lMjZjb3JyZWxhdG9yJTNEW3RpbWVzdGFtcF0lMjZkX2NvZGUlM0RuYTAwMyJ9LCJsaWJyYXJ5UmVxdWVzdGVkIjp0cnVlfSwiZ29vZ2xlQW5hbHl0aWNzIjp7InRyYWNraW5nSWQiOiJVQS02MDA4ODk1Mi0yIiwiZXZlbnRzIjp7IkFEX1NUQVJURUQiOnsiYWxpYXMiOiJWaWRlby1BZCIsImNhdGVnb3J5IjoiVmlkZW8iLCJsYWJlbCI6IltbVElUTEVdXSJ9LCJWSURFT19TVEFSVEVEIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiVmlkZW8tUGxheSIsImNhdGVnb3J5IjoiVmlkZW8iLCJsYWJlbCI6IltbVElUTEVdXSJ9LCJWSURFT19GSVJTVF9RVUFSVElMRSI6eyJhbGlhcyI6IlZpZGVvLTI1JSIsImNhdGVnb3J5IjoiVmlkZW8iLCJsYWJlbCI6IltbVElUTEVdXSJ9LCJWSURFT19NSURfUE9JTlQiOnsiYWxpYXMiOiJWaWRlby01MCUiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVklERU9fVEhJUkRfUVVBUlRJTEUiOnsiYWxpYXMiOiJWaWRlby03NSUiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVklERU9fQ09NUExFVEVEIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiVmlkZW8tMTAwJSIsImNhdGVnb3J5IjoiVmlkZW8iLCJsYWJlbCI6IltbVElUTEVdXSJ9LCJVU0VSX1BBVVNFIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiUGF1c2UiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVVNFUl9SRVNVTUUiOnsiYWxpYXMiOiJSZXN1bWUiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifX19LCJyZWFsVGltZUFuYWx5dGljcyI6dHJ1ZX0sImh0bWw1Ijp0cnVlfQ%3D%3D\"  width =\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Polk\nCounty student is facing a battery charge and will miss at least ten days of\nschool after a locker room attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Video of the attack has been shared more than 6,000 times on Facebook and has been removed off Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"495\" height=\"488\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-13.png?resize=495%2C488&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-13.png?w=495&amp;ssl=1 495w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-13.png?resize=300%2C296&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Polk\nCounty Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd told reporters Thursday\nthe district is reviewing videos and evidence related to the attack this week\nat Blake Academy in Lakeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A\n12-year-old boy is shown on cell phone video being beat up by a student while\nothers watched and recorded. It all happened during gym class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"439\" height=\"640\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-14.png?resize=439%2C640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-14.png?w=439&amp;ssl=1 439w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Screenshot-14.png?resize=206%2C300&amp;ssl=1 206w\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The boy\nseen on video punching the child has been suspended for ten days and could face\nfurther disciplinary action, Byrd said. Boys who recorded the incident are also\nsuspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\nschool district is not releasing the ages of any of those boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The victim\u2019s mother, Lauren Springfield, posted the video on Facebook after she felt she wasn\u2019t being provided enough information about the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>From Lauren Springfield posted on Facebook <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yesterday, my son was attacked. In a violent, malicious\nmanner while in the school locker room at Blake Academy in Polk County. As one\nstudent repeatedly hit him over and over again, others not only held my son\ndown so that the student could hit him but encouraged the attack. I am enraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The school nurse called us first and let us know our son was\nin the nurses office and could not give us any additional information. I\nimmediately left my office and went to the school &#8211; not one school\nadministrator contacted me on the way to the school. I got to the school to\nfind a welt on my son\u2019s forehead and back of head, a cut above his eye brow and\nbruising all around his eye. At the time we didn\u2019t think it was anymore than a\nscuffle and still due to his injuries we decided to press charges on the boy &#8211;\nat this time we had no clue others were involved. UNTIL later last night when\nwe received videos from the parent of a high school student (our son is in\nmiddle school) &#8211; the videos showed the attack that lasted well over 3 minutes\nwith no adult supervision or intervention. You hear the kids not only cursing\nbut encouraging the attack and not stepping in to stop what was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have asked the school administrators what will happen to\nthe other children involved &#8211; would you like to know their response? We can\u2019t\ntell you! We are entitled to know how the school system plans to protect our\nchild. I do not need to know the specifics of the child\u2019s name or any other\npersonal identifiers however I believe due to the nature of this attack we\nshould know what the consequences are and if the children are in school. What\nis our world coming to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This could have ended much differently, our child has one\nkidney and after getting kneed several times this could have resulted in\npermanent damage. He was thrown on the floor over a bench, head his head all\nwhile others watched. And all they can tell me is they will handle it &#8211; this is\nunacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, we went to the Bartow Courthouse and try to get a\nrestraining order or injunction and Judge Kelly Butz said that because the\nattack did not happen multiple times she would not award the protection to our\nson. It only takes one hit for a child to die. How many more times would you\nlike this to happen to our child or any other child? Throughout the entire\nattack this little boy laughed and smiled &#8211; and you think he won\u2019t do it again?\nYet the malicious videos were not taken into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can guarantee you had this been a group of black students\non a lone white student we would be having a completely different conversation.\nI am disheartened, I am tired, scared for my son and completely enraged. These\nvideos make my whole heart sad &#8211; nothing warrants this behavior. Policy must\nchange to protect our children &#8211; or we will continue to mourn children for\nstupid reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Dear parents,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>We want to assure you that the\nsafety and security of students is always our first priority at Blake\nAcademy.&nbsp;<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Earlier this week, a student\nrepeatedly struck another student in our locker room. Other students in the\nroom took video of this incident. One video was posted to social media.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>To protect student privacy, we\nare unable to provide additional details. However, we can assure you that\nschool administrators responded immediately once the incident was\nreported.&nbsp;<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The perpetrator and the\nstudents who videoed the incident have been disciplined according to the\nStudent Code of Conduct.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Additionally, law enforcement\nand the school district worked together to apply appropriate criminal charges\nto those involved in this incident. We continue to fully cooperate with the law\nenforcement investigation.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&nbsp;The teacher who was\nresponsible for supervising the children is currently being investigated and\ndiscipline is pending based on the outcome.&nbsp;<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>We are deeply saddened this\nincident took place at Blake Academy. We pride ourselves on ensuring an\ninclusive, welcoming, supportive learning environment. What occurred earlier\nthis week is in direct conflict with our school values and will not be\ntolerated.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Thank you for entrusting us\nwith your children, and be assured that we are putting them first every day.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>-Superintendent\nJacqueline Byrd<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Polk County student is facing a battery charge and will miss at least ten days of school after a locker room attack. Video of the attack has been shared&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"12","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}