Teacher who used broom to break up fight sues EAA

A Detroit teacher who was fired after using a broom to break up a fight between students is suing the Education Achievement Authority school district.

Tiffani Eaton-Davis' lawsuit says administrators did not warn her about or prepare her for the "violent conditions" at Pershing High School. Other teachers who physically intervened in fights were never disciplined, the complaint alleges.

A video of the April 30, 2014, fight between two boys in Eaton-Davis' classroom spread quickly online. It showed the students throwing punches and falling into desks and onto the floor before Eaton-Davis struck one with a broom.

Eaton-Davis was fired. The district later said she could come back to work at any EAA school, but she declined. The lawsuit says the incident traumatized her.

District spokesman Mario Morrow said today he can't comment on the lawsuit because he hasn't seen it.

The eight-count federal complaint filed Friday in Detroit says Eaton-Davis was a victim of gender discrimination. Several male teachers who physically broke up fights were never disciplined, it says.

It also alleges that she faced discrimination for being black. A white female teacher once stopped a fight by putting a student in a headlock, and she didn't get in trouble, the lawsuit says.

Eaton-Davis had been on the job for three months when the fight broke out. She said administrators didn't warn her when she started about the "unusually high amount of fighting and violence" at Pershing.

"She was never provided an employee handbook and was untrained to handle violent disputes amongst gang members," the lawsuit reads.

Among the other allegations: The district was too lax when it came to supervising employees and allowed dangerous students in the school against district guidelines.

One of the boys involved in the fight should not have been in school because he had been suspended over another matter, the complaint says. The district didn't hold a hearing about it and put him back in class without telling Eaton-Davis about his prior misconduct, the lawsuit says.

Eaton-Davis used a walkie-talkie to call security when the fight broke out but said she got no response. She was concerned about the boys' safety and used the broom as a last resort, the complaint says. Another student also tried to break up the fight before security guards eventually responded.

Eaton-Davis said officials told her she could resign or be terminated. She refused to sign termination papers and lost her job. She later received letters saying her job was being reinstated.

Jim Rasor, Eaton-Davis' attorney, said his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to the incident.

"This has destroyed her career, because of what the EAA did," Rasor said. "I would easily suggest to (jurors) that the award they should give to Tiffani for her non-economic pain and suffering is $25 million, for the loss of her dignity, for the loss of her privacy, and for the psychiatric conditions she's been diagnosed with."

It's unclear whether the EAA changed any security policies or procedures in light of the incident. Morrow declined to answers questions about that, saying he is "uncomfortable commenting on any parts of what could be her lawsuit."

The lawsuit is against the EAA, Chancellor Veronica Conforme, Human Resources director Carla West and five Jane and John Does. It seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Laurie Michelson.

Contact staff writer Ann Zaniewski at 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.



