A Cincinnati elementary school is being sued for trying to cover up the pervasive bullying that led to an 8-year-old’s suicide.
On January 26th, 2017, 8-year-old Gabriel Taye came home from school. When mother Cornelia Reynolds came home from work that afternoon, she found her son's lifeless body on the floor. She called 911, but first-responders were unable to revive her boy.
Now she's suing his elementary school for what she says was an attempt to cover up how her son was constantly being bullied.
“These parents had no idea what was going on at Carson Elementary School,” said family attorney in opening remarks at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The suit names Cincinnati Public Schools and Carson Elementary School as liable in the death of Gabriel Taye, arguing that the school's pervasive culture of bullying led to her son's death and that school officials kept Reynolds in the dark about just how bad that bullying was.
Although the suit documents multiple incidents ranging from as far back as grade one, the most compelling piece of evidence was school surveillance footage that shows Gabriel being attached in the boy's bathroom two days before his death.
The footage shows Gabriel being struck by another student and then lying unconscious on the floor for seven minutes. Students mocked or kicked Gabriel as they walked by to use the facilities. Eventually, teachers are notified but they seem to show little concern for Gabriel's wellbeing. The school did not call 911 and Reynolds was only informed that Gabriel "fainted" and that "his vitals were fine."
The following day, Reynolds kept Gabriel at home after he vomited before going to school. However, she sent him back the day after--something she says she never would have done had she known about the attack.
On the day of Gabriel's death, two students stole his water bottle and tried to flush it down the toilet. Gabriel told his teacher, who took no action. That evening, Gabriel killed himself.
Lawyers for the school board and Carson Elementary argue that the school does not suffer from pervasive bullying and that students who were caught bullying were punished.
This case is still before the court.
Source: BuzzFeed News, WCPO