News

Actions

Commerce City bus-stop bullies disciplined when video surfaces

Posted at 5:41 PM, Sep 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-26 20:51:12-04

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — A bus stop bullying video has gone viral just hours after a local mom posted it to Facebook.

The video was recorded last Thursday and shows a bigger kid with a stick prodding and poking a smaller kid on a bench. The student recording the incident encourages the behavior.

The victim eventually crawls further up onto the bench while he and other students off camera say “stop” or “put it down” at least 14 times in the minute-long video. The bigger kid finally gives up.

The students in the video are from Stuart Middle School in Commerce City. Brighton School District 27-J has taken disciplinary action against two students.

The district said in a statement:

Our administrative staff at Stuart Middle School was aware of the issue at this bus stop and had previously viewed the video. We believe appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against the two students in the video allegedly involved in the bullying. 

The victim’s mother said the day before the taped incident on Thursday, her son was “hit by multiple kids with sticks and came home with welts and bruises.”

The mother said her son suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is enrolled in special education. She says the district took too long to take action.

Brighton School District 27-J is meeting with the parents this Friday.

Bullying expert Dr. Bethany Dillen Fleck is a developmental psychologist at Metro State University of Denver. She says students with special needs are more likely to be targets of bullying.      

"And bullying has a lasting impact,” said Dillen Fleck. “Social influence is really huge with middle schoolers, especially when there’s a clear power differential that’s happening.”

A district spokesman also said they simply don’t have the staff to provide routine supervision at school bus stops, but the district does take allegations of any type of bullying very seriously.

Bullying prevention resources: 

http://www.msudenver.edu/eac/resources/bullyingandbullyingprevention/

---------

Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.

Or, keep up-to-date by following Denver7 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.