SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) — The parents of a 6-year-old student at Longview Elementary are suing Williamson County Schools after an incident occurred on May 20, during the child’s last week of kindergarten.

The parents, Erin and Sean Brodarick, claim school staff were negligent and that their daughter suffered minor injuries. They are suing WCS for $600,000.

The Brodaricks say the incident with their daughter began in the school cafeteria with a disagreement over a necklace with a friend.

“We got a phone call from the sheriff (WCSO) three hours after the incident, and he (WCSO student resource officer) claimed that our daughter was causing this big disruption and not being safe, and that he carried her. He minimized the entire event to the point of deception,” Erin Brodarick told News 2.

The Brodaricks shared video with News 2 showing school staff forming a circle around the kindergarten student in the cafeteria after the disagreement. The video also shows a student resource officer picking the girl up and carrying her to an office.

“Not a single adult got down on her level and asked her, 'What's wrong? How can we help you?' I mean, this was a dispute about a necklace with a friend. There were two little kindergarteners. One of them wanted a necklace back, and it could have been very easily resolved,” Erin explained.

Body camera video from the WCSO obtained by the Brodarick family from inside the office shows someone preventing the student from leaving the room while the student was trying to leave, screaming “no” and showing signs of distress.

“We felt physically sick watching what happened in that office. It's supposed to be a safe place for kids,” Sean Brodarick, the student’s father, told News 2.

Someone is also seen throwing the girl’s shoes and using a barrier to block her from the door.

In the video, someone is heard saying, “First graders don’t act like this… They say no ma’am, yes ma’am.”

Erin, who is a former teacher, said she thinks the incident should have been handled differently.  The lawsuit claims staff were “poorly trained” and used force that was “not necessary.” The documents said the Brodarick’s daughter was “deprived of lunch,” and the case involves “physical injury.”

“Every single adult escalated this and acted illegally," Erin said. "They abused our daughter, and now she is traumatized."

“We believe that they [Longview Elementary] didn't call us for three hours, so there would be no marks on our daughter when we arrived,” Sean said.

The Brodaricks also said there’s a need for cameras to be in classrooms and principals’ offices.

“We were lucky and had this footage, but not every parent is lucky,” Erin added.

News 2 reached out to WCS regarding this lawsuit. A district spokesperson responded saying WCS doesn’t comment on pending litigation, and their human resources department is still conducting its investigation.

Read the full legal complaint below:

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/they-abused-our-daughter-parents-sue-williamson-county-schools-over-incident-with-6-year-old-child/