‘Appropriate action’ taken after student beaten, official says

EDMOND — Policearrested an Edmond Memorial High School student last week after the beating of a special-needs student was caught on video.

The boy, whose name wasn’t released, punched the special-needs student in the back and chest in a boy’s restroom at the school, according to an Edmond police report. An Edmond officer took a report October 4 after the beating was caught on a student’s cellphone.

Randy Decker, chief human resources officer for Edmond Public Schools, said the district investigated the incident and “took appropriate action.”

“It’s not acceptable to treat any student like that,” he said.

Decker declined to discuss the type of punishment the boy received.

According to the district’s discipline code, fighting or conduct that threatens or jeopardizes the safety of others will result in disciplinary action, which may include in-school placement options or outof-school suspension.

On the video, a specialneeds student who suffers from a neurological disorder is struck in the upper body and chest area by another boy, according to the report.

In an interview with a police officer later, the boy was quoted stating, “I was just talking to my friends and one of my friends said, ‘Do you want to fight?’ I said, ‘No.’ But his friends took me into the restroom,” according to the Edmond police report.

The boy said he was asked if he knew how to fight. “Then he just started punching me in my chest and back,” the boy told police.

As the boy is being struck, a voice on the video is heard saying, “Why do you do him like that?”

An Edmond police officer reported the boy appears to “completely shut down” for several seconds as he continues to be punched. The boy does not fight back and is struck in the back before he walks out of the restroom.

The boy who struck him said he later felt remorseful and made a written statement to the school stating he did not think the incident was bullying because the victim agreed to it, according to the report.

A guardian of the boy who was beaten requested police pursue assault and battery complaints against the juvenile, according to the Edmond police report. The guardian also told police the boy has a medical device on his head meant to relieve pressure on his brain, according to the police report.

Decker praised students who saw the video and reported it to authorities.

“That’s exactly what we need to have happening in all of our schools,” he said.