Family Says New Video Proves Fiske Elementary Principal Lied About Kicking 9-Year-Old Boy Out Into The Cold
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A South Side family who accused Fiske Elementary of kicking a 9-year-old boy out of school without adult supervision in March now says newly released video proves the principal lied to police about why the boy was left out in the cold alone.
Former Fiske Principal Cynthia Miller told police the boy "bust through us and went out the door" after threatening to punch and kick her, according to body camera video released by attorney Dan Herbert, who is representing the boy's mother in a lawsuit against the school.
Last month, Herbert released surveillance video which showed a security officer dragging the boy into the principal's office, and then forcing him out of the building as Miller and a school counselor appeared to supervise.
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The new video shows Miller speaking to the boy, his grandparents, a school counselor, and two police officers hours after the incident on March 26.
"I think you got the real story from him," the boy's grandfather, Billy Pinkston, could be heard telling police officers at the start of the video.
But Miller angrily insisted the boy left the school on his own, claiming he ran past several adults to do so.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, sir. He left the building. He made the choice. We had him in here to calm him down, to try to get him to work with us. He pulled his fist back at me like he was going to hit me," Miller said. "I told him 'If you can't calm yourself down, I'm going to have to call the police,' and then he said 'I don't want to be here,' and bust through us and went out the door."
However, Miller's claims appear to be directly contradicted by surveillance video from inside the school, which shows her standing near the school exit just seconds before a security guard pushes the boy – who is standing face-to-face with the security guard, and away from the door – toward the exit.
Herbert said it all happened after the boy complained about being bullied; but that school officials later lied to the boy's family, claiming he had been fighting other kids.
The boy's mother and grandparents have said he was repeatedly bullied and harassed at school from the start, after moving to Chicago from Indiana last year, and the school typically responded by telling his mother to remove him from school.
"The school didn't like the fact that he was making complaints. The school, the principal, didn't like the fact that his mother and his grandparents were doing what they were supposed to do, and that was hold the school responsible," Herbert said.
Miller has since retired, and Chicago Public Schools officials said she has been placed on the district's "do not hire" list.
The boy has since enrolled at a different school, according to his family.
CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton has called the family's allegations "deeply disturbing."
Sources said the district was first made aware of the allegations on the day before the boy's family announced their lawsuit against CPS, and the security guard has since been removed from his position. The district also launched an investigation into the incident, as well as why district leadership was not previously notified about what happened.
