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Brooklyn Mom Claims Special Needs Son Was Assaulted By School Aide
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 14, 2011
Modified May 14, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 14, 2011
Modified May 14, 2011
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A Brooklyn mom claims that her special needs son was put into a choke hold at his school by a teacher's assistant earlier this week. And if she doesn't beat her son, then no one can: "I don't beat my children, so I don't expect people to beat my children. When I saw him, it hurt. I work with children in two places. I don't appreciate it," said mother Elizabeth Pena.
Pena says that she was told by school officials that her son Chris, who attends special needs classes at P.S. 141 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, was assaulted in school; she noticed when he came home on Wednesday with red marks on his neck. She was told that a teacher's assistant put her 14-year-old son, who has been labeled "emotionally disturbed," in a choke hold in the lunchroom front of other students and faculty. In addition to the scratches on the front and back of his throat and bruises on his arms, Chris also ended up with a couple of dislocated fingers. Chris told his mother that he did fight back, and swung at the aide while trying to get out of his grip.
This year, there have been several controversial cases of special needs kid being handcuffed in school, leading some politicians to call for a ban on handcuffing children at schools. The DOE said the aide has been suspended while a police investigation is on-going. Chris' father Dino has his own idea what should happen to the aide: "I want him locked up. I want him fired from his job. Or give me five minutes with him, that's it."
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chris pena
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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