An aide at a Little Rock middle school is on administrative leave and police are investigating after he was accused of hitting a 12-year-old boy earlier this month.
The mother of the boy, a student at Cloverdale Middle School’s community-based instruction class, returned to the campus on Nov. 15 after her son came home with his face “swollen and bruised,” according to a Little Rock police report. She told the school secretary that her son said “one of his teachers hit him,” the report states.
Authorities said another member of the boy’s family asked him if he was playing in the school bathroom and fell down, and he replied yes.
According to police, the aide, 64-year-old William Jarmon, said in a written statement that he remembered taking four boys into the bathroom and that, when the 12-year-old refused to leave, he held the boy’s hand and “moved him toward the door.”
Cloverdale Principal Wanda Ruffins checked surveillance footage Nov. 18 and said it showed the boy fall onto his hand, his face “eventually touching the concrete” as Jarmon exited the bathroom behind him, the report states. The aide called for a classroom teacher to get the student off the ground.
The boy’s mother told administrators Nov. 20 that her son claimed Jarmon struck him. He was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital for treatment of injuries to his right eye, authorities said.
Little Rock School District officials learned of the accusations late Saturday, according to a news release by the district. Jarmon was placed on leave pending an investigation, the release states.
The Little Rock Police Department is also investigating, department spokesman officer Eric Barnes said Monday.
According to the district’s statement, their investigation will continue when classes resume next week.
“When we are made aware of such allegations, we investigate them promptly and thoroughly, and will take appropriate action,” the release states.
The Consulate of Mexico in Little Rock released a statement Saturday decrying the reported “physical aggression” against the student, who they described as Mexican and 12 years old.
“The Government of Mexico in Little Rock condemns any type of physical, emotional, or economic aggression against any person, no matter their race, gender, religion or nationality, particularly if the victim is a minor,” the consulate’s release states.
The consulate said it offered attorneys to the family of the boy to “initiate legal actions against whomever is responsible” but didn’t indicate in the release whether the family planned to file a lawsuit.