San Diego High School Security Supervisor Won’t Be Fired After Kneeling on Black Teen’s Neck, He Will Instead Be Assigned to Another School
“As a district, we own what’s in this report,” GUHSD Superintendent Theresa Kemper said. “We have a Board policy in place to prevent this from happening, but our training — as robust as it was — needed to be stronger. So my message to the student is this: I’m sorry. This shouldn’t have happened.”
According to the report, termination wasn’t recommended, because to the supervisor’s lack of adequate training. Students who saw the fight and security staffers’ actions were shocked.
“Seemed a little aggressive, like a big burly dude on a freshman, I heard she was a freshman,” Valhalla senior Duncan Galvez told CBS 8 San Diego. “Either way, she’s only 14-18 years old so that’s kind of, a big 200-pound dude and a smaller female.”
At the time of the incident Superintendent Kemper said, “In light of the events that have taken place in America over the last two years, it’s completely understandable that students and members of our school community are upset.”
Tasha Williamson, a community activist, believes the encounter exposed a deficiency in the staff’s training.
“He stayed on top of her. He didn’t let he go. She wanted him off of her,” said Williamson. But that’s not all she claimed. “They know how to treat their white children, they just don’t know how to treat our Black children. I want them to know from me, as an activist, we want you to treat our children as if they were white because clearly there are racial disparities in treatment.”
The NAACP issued a statement saying, “It is long past time for something to be done. No more insincere statements, no more lip service, no more ‘training” without follow-through. There need to be CONSEQUENCES for violent racist behavior from people under color of authority.”