SPRINGDALE, Wash –
Video surveillance has been released from the Mary Walker School District in
Springdale, Washington, after a case of reported bullying surfaced in
October.
A
mother reported her son – who has Asperberger's – was attacked in a premeditated
assault by a bully, who she says asked his friend to record cell phone video
before punching her son twice in the face, knocking him down and breaking his
glasses.
The school district
released a pixilated version of the school surveillance video to KHQ, to protect
student privacy. In it, you see a
student walk up to another student, throw a punch, then the two appear to fight
before the student who was punched falls to the floor.
It's an issue that
happens in schools across the country, and experts say students or parents who
find themselves dealing with issues of bullying should be
patient.
"It's a long process
for a school to document the abuse, to find it, to be able to hold the child
that's bullying accountable," said Erin Williams, the advocacy and education
supervisor at Lutheran Community Services in Spokane. "Sometimes the best move is to make a report
to the police, and sometimes it's not."
Lutheran Community
Services is an organization certified in crisis intervention, advocacy,
education and outreach. Through its
crime victims program, it sees hundreds of kids every year who need support
groups and school advocates when it comes to bullying.
"We primarily see kids
who are being bullied because of a difference, because they identify as gay or
bisexual or transgendered, because they have a disability and are being picked
on," Williams added. "We do work with
people who are victims of a hate crime or bias crime here, and provide
assistance with protection orders, support groups, and just a listening ear, and
help advocate with the school system and court system however we
can."
Williams says it's
hard to know if bullying is becoming more of a problem here, or if we're just
hearing about it more than we used to, because not everyone comes forward, plus
cases aren't always classified as ‘bullying.'
If you need help, call
their crime victims hotline 24/7 at 509-747-8224.
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