by A ninth-grade student from upstate New York who was arrested Wednesday for allegedly beating up a younger student has reportedly suggested race was a factor in the school’s decision to suspend him.
A video that has been widely circulated on social media appears to show the ninth grader picking up a much smaller boy and throwing him to the ground. The incident happened Monday at Ada Cosgrove Middle School in Ogden, New York, during discharge, WHAM reported.
A video taken outside of Cosgrove Middle School in Ogden, NY showed a much larger student picking up a small child and throwing them onto the concrete floor. The victim’s family filed a complaint with the police on Tuesday morning. The bully has not yet been charged. pic.twitter.com/04WrfVad1h
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) February 14, 2023
On Thursday, Andy Ngo reported in the Post Millennial that the student accused of the assault believes race was a factor in his suspension, citing an independent event involving his brother as evidence:
The suspended teenager denies race was a factor in confronting the boy, who is white. But he believes his own punishment by the Spencerport Central School District administration was racist. He tells TPM he’s been 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 jumped on him and none of them got suspended or got into trouble.
As well as being suspended, the student was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, Ogden Police Chief Travis Gray confirmed in a media release on Wednesday.
“What I would say to kids is that all of their actions have consequences and they need to think about the consequences of their actions,” says Gray told WHAM.
Parents and educators, shocked by the incident, have spoken out about school violence.
“It makes your stomach turn.” WHEC quoted a parent named Lisa Watson said. “And that could be anyone’s kid.”
“I think the lack of consequences is the real problem,” Watson said, adding that teachers often “have to do more than they should” to address student behavior problems, according to WHAM.
Spencerport Schools, District of Ada Cosgrove Middle School, wrote In a statement, it is “committed to building on (its) security efforts.”
Gray noted in his media release that the ninth grader was ordered to “appear in family court at a later date.”
Follow Michael Foster on Twitter at @reichfoster.
