LINCOLN, Maine — An education technician at Ella P. Burr School was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a police investigation into an accusation that she allegedly had grabbed a 7-year-old pupil and forced her onto a school bus seat, Police Chief William Lawrence said Wednesday.
The allegation, Lawrence said, was that the school worker, whom he identified as Denise Richard, “grabbed her [the 7-year-old girl] and slammed her into a seat” during a school bus ride on Oct. 30. Richard was on the bus ride accompanying another child when the incident allegedly occurred.
But police interviews with Richard, the child and several witnesses, including the bus driver, and a review of the bus camera videotape that had recorded the incident, told a slightly different story, Lawrence said.
“The complaint was that [the pupil] was grabbed and thrown into the seat, but based on what I saw, [Richard] did the appropriate thing,” Lawrence said.
Stephen Burlock, an assistant district attorney with the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office, reviewed the case and decided to forgo charges against Richard, Lawrence said. Burlock did not immediately return a message left Wednesday.
District Attorney R. Christopher Almy agreed with Lawrence’s interpretation of events. Almy expressed sympathy for the girl and her mother, saying the girl was the victim of harassment on the bus, but that Richard’s actions were “totally appropriate.”
“There is no way we are taking this case to court,” Almy said Wednesday. “The mother is mad about this, I am sure, but we have to look at what we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt and I don’t think we can do that based on a preponderance of the evidence.”
Lawrence said that although police didn’t believe charges were warranted, they sought the review to make sure they were correct in their conclusion, Lawrence said.
RSU 67 Superintendent Denise Hamlin declined to discuss the investigation or Richard’s status Wednesday, citing it as a personnel matter.
The evidence showed that the girl “was out of control on the bus” because she was in a confrontation, being picked on by other children, while the bus was moving, and Richard grabbed the girl, put her in a seat and sat next to her to end the confrontation and “calm things down,” Lawrence said.
The “offensive physical contact” of Richard grabbing the girl occurred because Richard was trying to alleviate an unsafe situation and chose in the moment a reasonable course of action, Lawrence said.
“By clear definition, [assault] is there, but why did this occur? Are there circumstances surrounding this that could have prevented this from occurring? And based on what we were seeing, the answer was no. It was the only thing [Richard] could have done under the circumstances,” Lawrence said.
“Luckily in this case there were cameras on the bus to help clarify the statements of the people involved,” he added. “These things are not always cut and dry.”
Attempts to contact Richard were unsuccessful.
Officer Mark Fucile handled the investigation, with assistance from Detective David Cram, Lawrence said.
a video is worth a thousand words. Many bus videos immediately eliminate any ” My johnny is sweet and innocent” claims..
If we could put cameras everywhere in schools we’d see a whole lot of parents suddenly hanging their heads in shame. And hopefully making apologies to the schools and individual teachers they have attempted to intimidate over the years.
You got that right.
The humble Farmer
Isn’t that the truth!
It’s sort of sad that those parents don’t understand that they are actually damaging their “little angels” by letting them get away with blaming everyone & everything else for their own failings.
And meanwhile, the bullies go unpunished.
You don’t know that for sure.
You’re right, I don’t. It would be nice if the reporter investigated this and let us all know.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Lincoln school worker cleared of wrongdoing after accusation of grabbing, forcing student into seat
Perhaps if a few more students were taught how to behave, in spite of their mothers’, then we might not be seeing the ridiculous, rude, and dangerous behaviors that are the norm for many today.
“In spite of their mothers”? Why in spite of their mothers and not “in spite of their parents”? Seems you are implicating mothers with 100% of the blame for poor behavior in their children. What happened to the father’s contribution?!
I think my point was clear & didn’t see the need to mention every possible biological connection.
Your point was clear.
“What happened to the father’s contribution?!”
Close to 70% of the time it ended with the sperm donation…Sad but true…Most kids are raised by single moms…
kid is 7, other kids are picking on her and they are about to have a throw down? Sounds like the teacher should have done what she did, or she should have let them have a throw down like old days and get it straight them selves?
When I was a kid, your teachers, bus drivers, and parents told you something once, period. If they had to tell you a second time, they would put an exclamation point on it with a back hand. We all knew the rules and the consequences for breaking them. It made for much more respectful kids who grew up to be respectful adults. My, how times have changed.
OH OH, your in for it now…………
Oh well, I have broad shoulders. You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything.
Yeah the good ole days, my kids think I’m strict, but my kids don’t misbehave much, discipline and consequences work.
And “NOT” for the better ………………………
In catholic school you got a whack on the knuckles with a ruler if you were lucky…
I was an altar boy when I was a kid. I can relate to the penguins being into S&M! lol.
smack em……
RSU 67 Superintendent Denise Hamlin declined to discuss the
investigation or Richard’s status Wednesday, citing it as a personnel
matter.
This is a new one for this Super. She runs her mouth about every other personnel issue . Why now?
Where did all this go wrong. Now, if a teacher, care giver or even parents has to touch, grab,or hold, an out of control child or discipline a child you are subject to assault charges or law suit. Sometime threatening a child with a timeout just doesn’t do it. With this new political correctness, common sense almost a thing of the pass. The first time I got the ruler on the back of the hand in school, I went home and told on the teacher. “I’ll teach her” I ended up having to go to bed early for misbehaving in school. That was the last time I told on a teacher.
Let’s not kid ourselves – the bar for ‘school bus driver’ is set very low. Given the amount of unsupervised time these drivers spend with kids, they should have a lot more training and supervision.
You need to go ride a school bus for a week, seriously. Odds are very high that you would come away with a lot more respect for the job and the people who do it.