Two staff members at McClatchey Elementary School in Midlothian ISD have been placed on administrative leave following an incident involving a student. While no criminal charges have been filed, both the school district and the Midlothian Police Department have launched investigations.
The situation came to light on April 9, when Kristen Perez arrived at McClatchey Elementary to pick up her 7-year-old son, who is autistic and had just transferred to the school’s special-needs program earlier that week. Perez was surprised to see her son being escorted by a police officer and was alarmed by visible bruising and scrapes that, she says, were not present before school.
Perez told FOX 4 News that her son indicated a teacher was responsible for the injuries. She filed a police report and said school officials later showed her surveillance footage from the classroom. According to Perez, the video shows her son being pushed to the ground and restrained by a teacher, who allegedly placed their knees on the child’s back and applied pressure.
“He said, ‘That man that you think is nice,’” Perez recounted, referring to a teacher she had previously met and trusted. “I was not aware of how serious it was until I saw the video. My son was gasping and saying, ‘You’re choking me.’”
Midlothian ISD issued the following statement to FOX 4:
“We are actively and thoroughly investigating this situation. The two staff members assigned to the classroom have been placed on administrative leave. The Midlothian Police Department was immediately involved at the onset of the investigation, and the district has reported the incident to Child Protective Services.”
As of now, neither the district nor police have released the video publicly. Authorities say both the school district and the student’s family are cooperating fully with the investigation.