MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman in Manatee County is suing the school board, as well as several teachers, and demanding a jury trial after her son was allegedly tied to a chair during recess and restrained last school year.
The alleged incident happened on Feb. 2 at G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School in Bradenton. At the time, police said security cameras showed 31-year-old teacher Carina Chindamo and her teacher's aide, 39-year-old Taylor Internicola, using a nylon rope to tie the wrists of a 7-year-old, non-verbal boy with autism.
The rope is typically used to teach students to walk in line.
According to police, the rope was then wrapped around the leg of a chair, restraining the child. He sat on the ground behind the chair for approximately one hour.
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"At various times in the video, Chindamo and Internicola were observed sitting on the chair, appearing to use their weight to keep the child from getting free," the police department wrote.
Chindamo was arrested and charged with false imprisonment. Internicola was also later arrested, as was another teacher's aide Hydalmy Ortiz.
Now, the boy's mother, Takeila Jones, has filed a lawsuit against the school board for negligence. She alleges the district didn't properly train its teachers to teach children part of the exceptional student education (ESE) program.
The same lawsuit alleges Chindamo, Internicola and Ortiz not only falsely imprisoned Jones' son but also battered him.
The lawsuit is seeking damages of at least $50,000 and is demanding a trial by jury.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the school district for comment about the lawsuit. A spokesperson replied with the following statement:
“While the school district is fully cooperating with authorities on this matter, we cannot comment on pending litigation.”
The school district said it stands by its statement given back in February when the alleged incident took place. The following is that statement:
"The highest priority of the School District of Manatee County is student safety. While we do not typically comment on matters which are currently being investigated by law enforcement or the State Attorney’s Office, the Bradenton Police Department has announced warrants for the arrest of an exceptional student education teacher and an aide for their conduct involving one of our students at Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary. The details of this incident, as described in the Bradenton Police Department Press Release, are disturbing and reprehensible.
"The District has been fully cooperating with law enforcement throughout this active investigation. All of our protocols have been followed, including the employees’ removal from the classroom immediately after the incident was reported and reassignment to other District locations where students are not present."