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StumbleSchool bus driver, aide accused in abuse of 10-year-old girl
Thursday, March 4, 2010 | 12:52 p.m.
Lafayette Clark
Latasha Anderson
A Clark County School District bus driver and bus driver’s aide have been suspended without pay pending an investigation into allegations a 10-year-old girl was abused by the aide last month on the bus.
Bus aide Lafayette Clark, 24, was booked on counts of child abuse and coercion in connection with a Feb. 10 incident on a county school bus that was transporting a child home from the Variety School. Bus driver Latasha Anderson, 41, was arrested for child neglect and failing to report child abuse.
According to an arrest warrant dated March 3, the girl told her grandfather the bus aide had hurt her on the way home from school and the grandfather contacted the district.
When investigators interviewed the girl, she recounted that the bus aide was talking to her about something she found to be “boring” and she told him she didn’t want to talk. The aide, later identified as Clark, grabbed the girl’s neck and turned her away from the window, she told police. He asked her why she wasn’t looking at him, and she replied she didn’t want to. Clark then grabbed the seat belt and began squeezing it, authorities said.
He grabbed the girl’s arms and squeezed them tightly with his hand. The girl said she began to scream and told him to stop because he was hurting her, police said. When she told him to stop, he yelled at her and squeezed tighter, she said.
She told investigators she was afraid to get on the bus the next morning but saw that it was a different bus driver and aide, so she got on the bus and went to school. But by the time school was dismissed that day, she was afraid and refused to get on the bus because she thought the bus aide might hurt her again.
In the warrant, investigators recount the scene that is visible in the video recorded on the bus: Clark grabbed the girl by her left arm and squeezed it for a prolonged period of time; he also grabbed both of her wrists and applied pressure by squeezing them together with his left hand and shoving them on her lap. The girl responded by screaming, “Get off, you’re hurting me!” at which point Clark yelled, “Shut up and apologize!” and then said “it would be worse next time,” according to the report.
Clark is then seen pulling on the girl’s seat belt, which was secured around her body. The girl again told Clark he was hurting her. Clark asks the girl “if she wanted to be knock out” and the girl continues to cry, continually rubbing her wrists where they were squeezed and shaking her arm, the report stated.
The warrant indicates Anderson is seen on the tape doing nothing to stop the situation. Investigators said that during the incident Anderson calls bus dispatch to report there is a combative child on the bus. She is heard saying to Clark, “Yeah, you owe me.”
School District spokesman Michael Rodriguez said Clark and Anderson are both suspended without pay pending the investigation by Clark County School District Police.
Both were taken into custody without incident at a Clark County School District transportation facility and taken to the Clark County Detention Center.
Clark has been employed by the school district as a transportation aide since May 2005. Anderson has been employed by the school district’s transportation department since October 1994.
The coercion and child abuse charges are felonies; for Anderson, child neglect is a gross misdemeanor and failure to report is a misdemeanor.
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It is election time, so the Boss Man David Roger, or one of the vauted "Super Chiefs" will probably exert some pressure on the assigned deputy to actually prosecute this case.
Now, if it was the son of, oh, say, a topless bar owner who stabbed a man in the chest, then, no rec at sentencing is my guess.
"School Bus Driver Aide"? I've never heard of such a thing. May be something the School District may consider to eliminate.
Steve, most, if not all special ed busses have aides on them. Most of the time, they are not needed, but at times they are. They have to work with the districts most disabled students, transporting wheelchairs and watching the student's behavior on the bus so the kids are not disruptive.
Is it an absolute neccessity to have them on the bus, most of the time, no. But there are instances you do need two people on a bus.
the bigger question would be this: do you need so many special ed busses when they only have a few kids on each bus?
Special education is supposed to be funded by at least 2/3 by the feds and they don't: http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2010/...
And there are other ways to save money for CCSD: http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2010/...
Driver's aide? You have to be kidding me.
OK, I see why aides are required now. My bad.
We should put cameras everywhere. Without the cameras, they would have gotten away with this. Cops especially should be required to wear cameras. And ex cons too.
the girl was lucky she didn't get a black eye.
Well I for one am glad the arrested the driver Latasha Anderson She is suppose to protect the kids not and abusive aide just because he is a co worker. These dirtbags should be sent to prison for a very very long time. Lets set and example with these two and protect some kids.
I would have beaten both their ass If that was my kid.
you people make me sick always wishing the worst on someone first of all what the bus aide did was wrong if the little girl was acting out of control he should have tuned her out but to say that he should go to prison for this incident is B.S a lot of people do not know what its like to work with special needs. and as far as the bus driver she does not deserve to go to prison over this incident. videos can look like a million things and to act like they were really hurting this little girl is bananas.All i'm saying is this little girl is not so innocent i bet if the bus aide was white and the driver was white this would have not even been an issue.
I work with these type of children in my schools that I protect as an SRO (School Resource Officer). There is NO excuse for threatening or hurting ANY child... especially one that has special needs. It doesn't matter if the child was acting out screaming or being restless in her seat. The seatbelt was on and it appears that the child was NOT a threat to anyone. The aide (as they ARE needed) just lost it...which they can NEVER do.
This is also the type of thing that happens in ADULT nursing homes, which I have investigated in the past as well. I sure don't want these two to take care of me in a few more years!
Okay, it's time to clear out all the administrators at CCUSD, clear out personnel and start all over. Time to run background checks on all existing and new employees and clear out all the ex-felons. I'm tired of reading about crap like this continuing to happen by CCUSD employees. Surely there are people with clean records who need the jobs. Both of these people are just another example of human debris!
I thought martial law was the rule on all school grounds and school buses. Aren't school bus driver/aids issued paddles to manage these out of control undisciplined children?
Does the child have bruises or noticeable injuries, otherwise the suspensions should be with pay and that child should be suspended from riding on school buses.
If after the investigation, if there is no hard evidence to support any personnel injury to the child then the parents should be fined for the lost wages of the bus driver/aid.
I have to think the only thing bruised was the child's ego, which may be rooted in a deeper false sense of self image than is usual for interpersonal relationships with servants, the child's lack of respect for authority seams quite possibly the underlying cause of this incident.
There are many little girls just like her in our jail systems; an unwarranted abuse of authority would have been for either the driver or the aid to have come over to a placid child riding the bus and then unprovoked the aid just start manhandling them, which was not the case, was it now.
That is why we have aids on the buses now isn't it, the children or should I say the broods (rude) of some families are unmanageable even by them, so how do we expect others to control or defuse these calculated small mind bombs.
Manners and curtsies are a lost social skill learned at home. Children should be trained by their parents what proper social behavior is, but parents have abdicated these lessons to our public schools, giving them all the responsibility without any authority.
The sad part of this incident is that the harshest punishment any young person today may receive is that they may lose a few smiley faces from their board of accomplishments or loose 10 points on their "way-to-go" good self esteem board.
These people are the dregs of society. They are on the same level as animals and I HOPE THEY ARE LOCKED UP FOR A LOOOOOONG, LONG TIME.
Ok therealdeal....Just because they are black doesnt mean thats why they are being punished. What they did was wrong. They are special needs kids. Whether she was acting out or not, he still shouldnt have treated her that way. And the driver should have done something to stop it. No one is being racist. You are just taking it like that. So thats your problem!
And this is why we need more funding for schools?
Working with special needs children can be very difficult to say the least. I have worked with these kids. When they act up sometimes it takes 2 adults to hold them down until they stop what ever behavior they were engaged in. So far we have only heard one side of the story. Please stop using the race card, good and bad come in all colors.
XxCaitlynxX is right. I don't know why that person made it an issue. I can't stand black n white bull. I am hella tired of hearing that so please stop with the ignorant comment and be real. Once again the main focus is the 10 year old child who was mistreated. It could have been easily ignored. If your tired of your job and lose the ability to care and protect the children, then its time to move on. Clark should have never put his hands on the girl in the first place. As for Anderson, how could you not do or say anything. Ugh Your both fired!!!
That poor girl. It's so sad she has to remember that for the rest of her life. The bus district should reevaluate there team and hiring standards. Since 1994 how many kids did she neglect to protect? How many kids got hurt but maybe couldn't say? These 2 low life pieces of crap should be treated the same way and then disposed of.
We as parents trust our kids to be safe at school and on there way to school. We should have to worry more about bullies then the staff/employees. This is so sad.
Good luck to the family and little girl. Hopefully she can feel safe getting on the bus again.
We all have our own opinions but I suggest to let the authorities investigate. The video recording is there for investigators to review and let justice prevail regardless of the suspects' skin color.
LOL...unbelievable how race became the story. HELLO people, these are the most innocent human beings we are talking about. I know how hard it is to work with special needs children, I have two in the Clark County School District, but if you can't handle the job, then leave, you don't abuse children who cannot protect themselves and you sure as hell don't protect the abuser, black or white. I know of several employees within the school district who have emotional, mentally and physically abused my children, nothing is ever done. And yes, all of my children's abusers are WHITE! And nothing will ever be done to protect our children, school administrators always protect their own, over innocent children and with the job market as it is, the abuse, lies and coverups with continue to grow and manifest. More people need to be writing the US Dept. of Education and filing complaints against CCSD. And ya, go ahead and bypass CCSD compliance and monitoring, Mr. Lohr is just there for his paycheck, nothing more, so NO he will not help you, he will just sit there and shake his head in agreance and stab you in the back as you walk out the door, and then just file you away. Well that has been my experience over the last 4 years with Josh!
Thanks for most of your support. Their supervisor was contacted immediately to review the tape. He looks into it calls back and says ..I didn't see anything do u want to just move forward ...somewhere alongs those words. Of course it was asked that it be investigated further. This easily could of been swept under the rug and something more serious could of resulted. Thank god she refused to get on the bus the next day... So that should be investigated a swell! thanks
First of all...GunslingerA10 your an idiot!Evidentally you did not read the story in it's entirety. The young girl did not want to listen to his "boring" story, so maybe it was "his" ego that was bruised. What did this child do so wrong? Not wanting to listen to someone talk??? Which 3rd world country are you from?
As for everyone else's comments on special needs children's aggressiveness and out of control temper, this little girl obviously was doing nothing wrong. SHE WAS IN A SEATBELT and looking out her window and just didnt want to be bother with Clark! So grabbing her neck and making her listen to him is the proper way to get her attention. I can't even say "to discipline" her, because she did nothing wrong in the first place.
Seems as though some of you thinks she deserves this kind of punishment, OBVIOUSLY you dont have children, because if you did, you would feel the compassion for this little girl. But if you do have kids, GOD HELP THEM!!
These 2 deserve the maxium punishment allowed in the case and hopefully this will serve as a lesson to all the others who have not gotten caught!!
Like I said before both of these dirtbags should be made an example of with many many years behind bars in a horrible prison where someone else is responsible for their safety. This poor little girl is most likely just the latest victim. These two dirtbags should have to pay this little girl lots and lots of money for her trouble. Lets all of us in the community make sure these dirtbags pay if they are somehow able to escape the reach of the law. I wonder just how many kids have been abused by these thugs? Latasha Anderson and Lafayette Clark be warned we will not allow you to hurt children and we are watching, watching closely the outcome of your child abuse case.
Hey "realdeal" I just love how you throw in the race card, nobody was putting them down because they are black, only for thier actions. Any time a black person gets in trouble some uneducated idiot claims "it's because they're black", that doesn't work anymore. If they were white I'd still want to take care of them myself instead of the authorities. Punishing these two individuals with long jail time will do nothing for anyone,paying fines? , with what? thier good looks? I don't think so. Have them released with no bail and give them a ride home, only make a quick stop in the desert and say they just ran away, and no one will ever see them again.
teamster is that you and your union aide? Wow, we all know teamster drives a school bus now.
First of all... zsuzsika70 you're an enabler!
I normally don't like to be combative with bloggers; the name calling is unconstructive in the way of informative dialog. I can allow you to vent your position on the article. I hope you can allow others to vent their points of view without trying to intimidate them when they have different perspective.
I hope you can comprehend what is written in the story. I am going to try and point out your perplexity of the facts, which leads to the conclusion that you are too emotional for an unbiased position. I don't mean to appear hurtful, but there are three soles concerned here, neither one is more important than any other.
1. When investigators interviewed the girl, she recounted that the bus aide was talking to her about something she found to be "boring" and she told him she didn't want to talk. The aide, later identified as Clark, grabbed the girl's neck and turned her away from the window, she told police. ** You then run with that statement as a fact, and write -"So grabbing her neck and making her listen to him is the proper way to get her attention".
2. In the warrant, investigators recount the scene that is visible in the video recorded on the bus: Clark grabbed the girl by her left arm and squeezed it for a prolonged period of time; he also grabbed both of her wrists and applied pressure by squeezing them together with his left hand and shoving them on her lap. The girl responded by screaming, "Get off, you're hurting me!" at which point Clark yelled, "Shut up and apologize!" and then said "it would be worse next time," according to the report. ** It seems per the video; Clark did not grab the girl by the neck as she said when she was trying to create the air of innocents injured.
3. Bus aide Lafayette Clark, 24; means he is in a position of authority, acting as an agent of the Clark County School District, that girl (princess) must listen to the directions given to her by any bus aid, regardless to whether she thinks the instructions are boring. This is a clear cut demonstration that she disrespected the aids authority.
4. Perjury in court is not allowed; once you cross that line the integrity of your testimony is deemed worthless.
I too think most children are innocent, but then again there are many accounts of evil doers who are children.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar...
it is about race because the driver was black and the aide was a black male you dumb people want them to suffer a great deal like spendin time in prison for what because the little girl's feelings were hurt.WOW!!! well her ass shouldnt have been bad its up to the parents to teach the little girl manners and respect. and as for str8ttruth and caitlynn it is about race white folkes always want the worst for blacks no matter what it is if this were a white woman and white male doing this to a black kid that topic would never even made headlines. everybody who has worked with special needs no that when they are put in restraints whats the first thing they do scream, fuss, and cry so dont give me that bull that they were hurting her one thing about special needy kids they love to be incontrol and she just happen to come across people who don't tolerate disrespectful little brats who parents dont disciplin there kids like there suppose to. and im not sticking up for black people i'm speaking the truth, caitlynn because im not even black i'm white so there you go. now i have said what i wanted to say if you dont like it u and str8ttruth can kick rocks now how u like that.
and feduptohere i can say what i want when i want and if you dont like it then dont read what i blog ok these are my opinions ok so i dont agree with you and you dont agree with me so freakin what get over it and i wasnt sayn that the law was being rasict i was sayin you bloggers were overreacting as usual and more than likely the ones who are overreacting are white
WTF!!!! No matter whoever thinks this girl is playing it up to get someone in trouble,, that aide should not even have put his hands on her in the first place... He is nothing but a bully as well as the bus driver to let it happen...If that was my child,, I would be in jail with them for kicking the crap out of a bus driver and an aide.. Totally uncalled for in any respect of what she did or didnt do...Believe it as you want,, it has nothing to do with race and if you think that,, you are as stupid as they are....
Ya, teamster and his union aide should have known better.
It doesn't matter if the parties involved in this are white, yellow, black, polka dot or striped...An adult, especially one with authority, should NEVER aggressively grab, push, pull or otherwise "teach" (if you can even call it that), a child in that manner. There are ways to do things and there are ways not to. Come on, folks! As a mom of a wonderful 6 year old boy, I know one can get stressed out sometimes, but that's when you, as the more mature adult, are supposed to take a "breather" or walk away. Adults need to be better than their own frustrations. And I am not some soft parent that never disciplines her child, but grabbing, squeezing and possibly threatening will only scare the child. It will not help or succeed in teaching anything.
Lafayette Clark and Latasha Anderson both look like special-ed drop-outs, themselves.
Neither looks like they can compose a complete sentence outside of "Can I cop a dime bag?"
All Angels look alike, good or evil.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained vulgar language.
(RHOOSTER) WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THAT YOU WOULD NOT WANT YOUR KID RIDING THE BUSS BECUZ ITS TO DARK IN THERE. Y DID U SAY THAT RACIST JERK
rottendeal your stupid..who cares what color you are..you think a person other than black would get persecuted any less with the proof they have. your an idiot..wuts up wit da rocks..that was stupid..jus like ur comment.And im white..not..who gives a shizzle what color u are..color don't mean a thing..cry wolf somewhere else it don't work here
str8truth last time i checked i wasnt talkn to yo dumb ass so kick rocks str8tgay