The
mother of a 16-year-old boy with special needs who died after being
physically restrained by school staff for allegedly refusing to leave
the basketball court at his school has filed a multi-million-dollar
lawsuit against the school.
"Losing
Corey has been a painful and tragic occurrence," said Sheila Foster,
the mother of Corey Foster. "It's emotionally stressful. I took this
course of action to hold Leake & Watts school accountable and to
help change laws on restraint and seclusion in schools."
"I
just don't want this to happen to another child," said Foster. The
lawsuit, filed in New York City, charges that Leake & Watts School
of suburban Yonkers, N.Y., and four specific staff members used
"physical force" on Corey "which resulted in pain, suffering, choking,
pre-death terror, and ultimately the death" of the student.
Surveillance
video made public last month and aired on ABC News shows the teenager
playing basketball in the school gym alongside other students and staff
members on April 18, 2012. Minutes later he is surrounded by staff in a
corner of the gym where it appears he is pushed against the wall and
then restrained face-down by four staff members. Nearly 45 minutes later
he was removed from the gym on a stretcher.
"They
circled him like thugs or a gang," said the Foster family's lawyer,
Jacob Oresky. "The staff members at Leake & Watts exercised a lot of
force on Corey Foster and they killed him." Oresky said Leake &
Watts has never issued an apology or acknowledged any degree of fault in
Corey's death. He wouldn't name a precise figure that the family is
seeking, but said "we anticipate this will be a multi-million-dollar
lawsuit."
"Schools
and educational facilities need to understand that they are trusted
with our children and they should exercise the highest possible degree
of care in safeguarding their well being," said Oresky. "In this case
Leake & Watts failed to do so and we don't want to see any other
children at their facility or anywhere else injured or hurt due to
carelessness."
An
autopsy ruled Corey's death an accident, saying he suffered "cardiac
arrest during an excited state while being subdued." In an email
statement to ABC News, Meredith Barber, director of institutional
advancement at Leake & Watts, said, "The consistent findings of
extensive third party independent reviews by the police, the District
Attorney's office, the medical examiner and state officials support
Leake & Watts' own internal review, which determined that on the
night of April 18th staff followed appropriate therapeutic practices
designed to support the young people in our care. Corey Foster's death
was a tragedy."
"In
regard to the lawsuit," said Barber, "we look forward to addressing its
claims in court. Meanwhile, we remain focused on serving children,
adults and families with a wide range of needs and look towards doing
all that we can in the service of others."
Sheila
Foster has joined forces with parents around the country whose children
have been killed or injured as a result of being physically restrained
or put into seclusion rooms at school. They are fighting back and
speaking up in support of national legislation that seeks to institute a
uniform standard on restraint and seclusion for the nation's school.
"There's
thousands and thousands of children that have been traumatized, that
have been injured at the hands of the caregivers and it's just
unacceptable," said Rep. George Miller, D.-California, sponsor of the
new legislation.
While
progress has been made at the state level in strengthening laws and
statues, many parents and advocacy groups in support of the federal
legislation say it's been too slow and the inconsistencies between and
within states leave children with disabilities vulnerable.
Foster
said she grieves the loss of her son every day and is determined to
help make a difference regarding restraints and seclusions in schools.
"It's been an emotional rollercoaster but I'm willing to ride it out
until I see justice for Corey," said Foster. "I'm not stopping."
"I
know I won't feel him hug me anymore, or say, 'I love you, mommy,'"
said Foster. "And this shouldn't happen anymore to another child, to
another family. Someone powerful has to step in and say this isn't
right."
ABC-News
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