Non-verbal autistic boy allegedly tasered, left lying in urine at Caddo high school

Nick Wooten | Shreveport Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Student with autism gives moving graduation speech Sef Scott had one message for his classmates: Do the unexpected.

A non-verbal, autistic 10th-grader at a Caddo Parish high school allegedly was tasered and left lying motionless in a pool of his own urine for approximately 13 minutes, according to a civil lawsuit filed last week in federal court.

The boy's mother, Rosie Philips, filed the lawsuit against Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator, alleging that her son's civil rights were violated under federal disability laws. The sheriff's department provides armed security for some Caddo Parish schools.

The boy's family is being represented by Bizer & DeReus, a New Orleans-based firm that concentrates representing disabled persons.

Prator declined to comment on the specifics of this case, adding: "But I can say that we are always seeking ways to improve. As we strive to be the best law-enforcement agency around."

A representative of the Caddo Parish School Board did not respond to a request for comment. The school board is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The alleged incident occurred Aug. 31, 2017, at Northwood High School, 5939 Old Mooringsport Road.

The boy, identified in the lawsuit only as "J.H.," was placed in Northwood's program for children with "severe and profound autism" and attended classes there in a self-contained environment. He was at the school only 14 days before the alleged incident, according to the lawsuit.

On Aug. 31, soon after arriving in his special education classroom at the school, J.H. began possibly rubbing his stomach against a wall. In the room at the time were a teacher and two other staff members, although his assigned teacher was not in the room, according to the lawsuit.

A staff member in the classroom asked J.H. to stop. The boy walked out of the classroom and into the hallway. He then began to compulsively drink water. He also stood in the hallway with his fingers in his ears — normal behavior when J.H. is stressed, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that J.H., like others with autism, engages in predictable behaviors when confronted with unfamiliar or frustrating circumstances.

J.H. then walked into and out of the classroom. Two school administrators arrived in the hallway and forcibly blocked the boy from re-entering the classroom. A minor struggle ensued, according to the lawsuit.

Northwood's school resource officer, a Caddo sheriff's deputy identified in the lawsuit only as "Deputy Nunnery," approached the boy with his hand on his taser and did not try to de-escalate the situation, according to the lawsuit. Instead, Nunnery and members of the school staff formed a semi-circle around J.H. for about seven minutes, the lawsuit alleges.

J.H. tried to break free of the semi-circle and swatted at administrators. The deputy then allegedly fired his taser, possibly striking J.H. several times and sending the boy to the ground, according to the lawsuit.

On the floor, J.H. did not move. He urinated on himself. J.H. was left on the floor until his mother arrived and, during that time, Nunnery did not check on J.H.'s condition, according to the lawsuit.

"In this period in which he lay on the floor, the Sheriff’s deputy did not check his condition, his vitals, did not determine whether J.H. was still breathing, and made no motion to otherwise determine that J.H. was safe," the lawsuit alleges.

J.H.'s mother arrived at the school and helped her son off the floor. Both she and J.H. left the building, escorted by security.

Video footage shows what occurred in the hallway, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that the deputies patrolling schools had little to no training on how to handle individuals with disabilities.

The sheriff's office could not produce training materials, written policies and other documents regarding interactions between deputies and those with autism from August 2013 to August 2017, according to the lawsuit.

The Caddo School Board provided training to Caddo Sheriff's deputies on Oct. 13 — more than a month after the alleged incident. The training was provided by specialists and board-certified behavior analysts. Deputy Nunnery attended the training, according to the lawsuit.

"The Sheriff’s deputies that were patrolling the hallways of NHS had little or no training on individuals with disabilities, interacting with individuals with autism, or de-escalation protocols and related best practices for children with autism," the lawsuit alleges.

J.H. did not have prior discipline issues at the school, and the encounter in which he was tasered changed his behavior, according to the lawsuit.

"Immediately after the incident, J.H. would not sleep in his own bed. J.H. is afraid to be alone, to leave his home, and to go anywhere without his family," the suit alleges. "He has not wanted his family to leave the house or even the room without him. Also, he now prefers to be physically close to people and even holds on to them, where before he avoided physical proximity and contact."

The boy's mother is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified sum in damages, saying that a judgment "regardless of the amount, would deter the defendant from discriminating against individuals with autism in the future." The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office has not formally responded to the lawsuit, said Garret DeReus, a partner at Bizer & DeReus. The firm previously handled several lawsuits against the City of Shreveport alleging non-compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

"This clearly a very serious situation," DeReus said. "It's great that this student's mother is stepping forward and making sure his voice is heard."