The student accused of being the violent bully claims his suspension from school was racially motivated. But another student who knows him says he has a history of violently targeting smaller students.
A video of a tall student picking up a small boy and slamming him to the concrete ground outside an upstate New York middle school was viewed millions of times this week on social media, attracting shock and anger. The student accused of being the violent bully is speaking out exclusively to The Post Millennial, claiming his suspension from school was racially motivated. But another student who knows him says he has a history of violently targeting smaller students.
On Feb. 13, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound student was filmed outside Cosgrove Middle School near Ogden, N.Y. confronting an 11-year-old boy who is significantly smaller. He doesn’t know the boy’s name but tells TPM he believes he was responsible for a diss track against his sister on social media. The 14-year-old is a freshman at Spencerport High School, which is adjacent to the middle school.
On the video, the smaller child repeatedly says, “It was the other dude” when he was confronted and grabbed before being picked up and slammed to the ground. Students in the vicinity laugh.
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View on XA freshman at the high school who knows the suspended teen says he misidentified the 11-year-old boy and has a history of fighting.
“They have all been against kids way smaller,” he claims. “[He] once slammed a much smaller kid and punched him. Everyone saw it but a teacher. He’s also fought a kid and chased him in a lunchroom.” The boy asked not to be named, fearing retaliation.
The suspended teen denies that race was a factor in confronting the boy, who is white. But he believes his own punishment by the administration of Spencerport Central School District was racist. He tells TPM he was suspended for the remainder of the academic year—something he believes is racially motivated because he’s black. “Last year my brother got into a fight and a lot of white people jump[ed] him and not one of them got suspended or in trouble.”
The school district declined to comment about the student, his history or his allegations, directing TPM to a statement on its website.
“We are committed to building upon our security efforts in our schools and campus, and focusing on our programs and services to prevent behaviors such as what happened at Cosgrove from ever happening again.”
The Spencerport Central School District released a statement about the incident
On Wednesday, Ogden Police charged the teen with assault following an investigation and a report filed by the family of the younger child. The high schooler was issued a ticket to appear at family court.
Ogden Police did not respond to a request for comment. The suspended teen’s parents also declined to comment.
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