Protests After School "Review" Denies Jaheem Herrera was Bullied

Shock, disbelief and outrage after an internal "review" by the DeKalb County (Georgia) School District finds "no evidence" of the relentless bullying of 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera, who hanged himself after months of anti-gay taunts and violence. Two people arrested, one parent called the retired judge who headed the investigation "a liar", and Jaheem's mother was crying, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Retired Fulton Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, who headed the review, said at a press conference the findings show Jaheem Herrera, 11, actively participated in several fights at Dunaire Elementary School during the school year.

His mother, Masika Bermudez, broke down crying 13 minutes into the press conference. Bermudez has insisted her son killed himself after being constantly bullied at Dunaire and that she had complained to school officials several times.

More than a dozen people showed up to hear the findings at the school district’s headquarters on North Decatur Road near Clarkston, and reaction was swift and harsh. One man was forcibly removed from the building after he started shouting, “Shame!”

Jaheem’s teachers said they did not see or hear bullying or harassment directed at the child and that he appeared well-liked by classmates. The school system’s lawyers released six signed statements by Jaheem’s teachers and staff as requested by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the Georgia Open Records Act.

The not-very-surprising findings of the "review" come at the same time Masika Bermudez and other parents file suit against the DeKalb County School District. The "investigation" is in response to a possible criminal investigation as other parents say their sons were bullied, harassed, "called gay" and beaten with belt buckles at the same school.

The report continues: "A friend of Jaheem’s family, Monique McMiller, said four of her children attend Dunaire, including her son, whom she said was bullied in March 2008. McMiller said the principal was unresponsive and that the same kids then are causing problems now. McMiller said she was interviewed by Moore for the judge’s report, as was her son, who McMiller said broke down in tears during the session. The judge’s conclusion 'makes her [Moore] a liar,' McMiller said. 'To come to a conclusion there’s no bullying, to drag that family underneath like that, is embarrassing.'

Alice Brown, the mother of A.J. Brown, Jaheem's best friend who defended him from bullies, witnessed and complained about bullying toward Jaheem on multiple occasions. Brown was forced to pull her son from classes after Jaheem's suicide because classmates were harassing him for "snitching."

To recap: The judge recruited by the school district to investigate the school district finds nothing. Six teachers who could be named in a lawsuit deny they saw any bullying. Really? How very surprising. The school district's papier-mâché "investigation" is a fraud and will eventually be exposed for what it is: A cover-up by teachers and administrators who looked the other way as students glorified "thug culture" and bullied their classmate to death.

Thanks JAMES M in Chattanooga!

Over Protests, School Denies Boy Was Bullied [AJC]

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Comments

[GRANT]

----->The school district's papier mache "investigation" is a fraud and will be exposed for what it is. A cover-up by teachers and administrators who looked the other way as students glorified "thug culture" and bullied their classmate to death.

And that is why I come to this site five or six times a day. That (in a nutshell) is the problem with our schools and this I know from having been a teacher and now a substitute teacher in three urban districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The parents don't care,, many teachers don't care, and you can bet the administrators don't give a flying eff.

[Nathan James]

I could have written this post weeks ago. I knew it was coming, because that's just the way things are. Bullying is ignored, or, the bullying victim is blamed or called a "disruptive element" if he dares to fight back.

I think we will see more suicides and more bullying victims who are horribly traumatized, and nothing will change until teachers, administrators, and elected officials understand that ignoring bullying will be professional suicide.

[Dante]

i wouldn't be surprised if it is the same four or five students trying to run the schools. no one wants to be labeled a snitch...and the teachers are often afraid of retaliation too

but that really is precious, jaheem appeared well liked, lol

is that why he was bullied every day?

[Alden Murphy]

What is "actively participated in several fights"??? is that when you are in a headlock and fight back? or when kids slap or punch hyou?

i was bullied in the 7th and 8th grades, and i8n the firsst two years of high school. sounds like i also 'actively participated in several fights' too

[Faison]

This is an outrage. I attended elementary school in Dekalb and Fulton County, that was back in the 80s, and man was I called names and victimized by anti-gay bullying. That was before I even knew I was gay ohg and of course the teachers and principals didn't care.

Can we say cover-up? They were told to read from a script and trying to same their own azz. Sue them all and expose them for the frauds they are.

[Chitown Kev]

I hope Ms. Bermudez sues the sh*t out of this school district.

And, as one commenter at Joe.My.God said, who's to say that a few of these teachers weren't doing the bullying as well? I have stories about THAT too.

Sounds like a CYA operation by the school district.

[Chris]

This is very sad. I hope justice prevails. I'd like to hear from you brothers who have law backgrounds. What happens next? The school and board of education cannot police itself when the are the actual perpetrators.

[Ravenback]

I'm not shocked or surprised by the school's report denying bullying. People never admit to their culpability because they want to protect themselves from any legal action. If they had admitted the truth, then their admittance could be used against them in court. But by denying everything, they will force Jaheem's family to go into court and prove their case. There's no telling how long this process will take. It's sad that people are more interested in covering their collective asses rather than getting on with the task to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again. Quite pathetic.

[Franklyn Smyth]

@ Chris:

This is standard operating procedure for an internal review. It carries much less weight than an external audit. Speaking as an attorney (but not a litigator) I would say they have a very good case. At least four parents are party to this suit and there are numerous eyewitnesses, no? And all of the parents complained.

It will be very interesting to hear if these cases all involved the same bullies.

Oh and correct me if I'm wrong but didn't fellow students say on camera the boy was bullied? And wasn't he attacked in a school bathroom? That is on school property.

[Jackson]

Scandalous but not very surprising. As Ravenback mentioned, why would they admit they were negligent on this one kid and in dereliction of duty? That is opening the barnyard door to this suit, that criminal investigation, state regulation reviews, teacher licensing hearings...and many other suits too.

The case will be litigated and dragged out. I will not be very surprised if they get more and more parents to sign on.

Dekalb schools is run by bunch of pathetic mofos...

[Antwan]

sounds like my high school years ten years ago, teachers turned a blind eye and didn't see when i was pushed and showed down stairs i

[alicia banks]

shame

all of these teachers who allowed themselves to be pressured into lying on paper are amoral cowards...

many adults and children have his blood on their hands

karma is real,
ab

[alicia banks]

ps:

the admin has also conspired to prevent setting a legal precedent that incriminates other school districts nationwide...

as EVERY public school in america is ruled by bullies/heathen spawn...

civilized, smart, humane kids = prey

tragic,
ab

[gurlene]

"A cover-up by teachers and administrators who looked the other way as students glorified "thug culture" and bullied their classmate to death."

I am not surprised and to be honest I expected it. I just googled her and looking at her picture I get the impression of a political opportunist who made sure she did not rile up the bible thumpers she will need to further her black posterior and career.

People I am sorry for going a bit off article here but it is related indirectly to this. When the Jenna 6 b/s started up and the parade leaders all gathered for the jamboree protest I wondered aloud did any of them notice it was 6 on 1 and that reason alone meant out of fairness and decency someone should have suggested to those boys it might be a bitter pill to swallow but apologize to show some ground as to fairness and tolerance on your behalf. Those boys were big for their age and they could have easily, out of rage, beaten that white boy to death. No way jose. The parade marched/rallied on.

Now we have a situation where children, which means more than one, saw this little boy pass out from the pressure of a headlock and an ignorant, old black hipped female jude decided that was no big deal.

Ok, be that as it may, have no wonder 6 years or so down the road when these same kids are read about in the paper having had the living you know what shot out of them or visa-verse becasue of a simple diss. Find that hard to believe? How can you doubt it when they have clearly been shown they can get away with taunting people until they give up the ultimate way.

What it is going to take is a black kid who has finally had enough to bring a gun to school.....you know the rest.

[Georgia Peach]

this is just pathetic on so many levels and shows the craven education system at its worst.

so very sad. dekalb county georgia, once a bastion of white privilege and now home to one of the largest black middle class communities in the country. and once they get in "power" the parents let their children become middle class thugs and the teachers are told to ignore it.

and after a boy is "lynched" they cover it up.

sounds like the klan to me, just a different kind.

[Dex123ter]

I'm with the gentleman who was removed from the school district's headquarters, "Shame!"

[Meet Me On The Moon]

This is why I WANT them to come fa me, Im going OFF!