The family of a Des Moines middle schooler claims a teacher punched the student in the stomach Wednesday when the student wouldn’t go to the office.
J'lijah Garcia, 13, says he went to his 6th period class in a portable at Pacific Middle School when the teacher told him to go to the office.
“And I asked why,” J'lijah said. “And she said, ‘Because I don't like you, and I don't like your actions.’”
J'lijah said he put out his foot to block the door from closing to get some clarity, and that's when he claims it got physical and the teacher stuck him in the chest.
“The teacher hit him so forceful in his sternum that it knocked his air out and made him tear up,” said Joe Garcia, J'lijah’s father.
Highline School District says it found no evidence of misconduct.
“The investigating officer communicated that he had completed his interviews, and no arrest was made,” district spokesperson Catherine Carbone Rogers said in a statement. “We have moved the student from this teacher's class.”
J'lijah’s family took photos of the bruising on his stomach an hour and a half later after staff iced it and took J'lijah’s statement.
J'lijah has a history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and his father says he’s worked closely with the school and is usually called to help de-escalate an issue.
Joe says protocol was not followed and has filed a police report.
“I just want my son to be safe,” Joe said. “I want him to be able to be at school, and I want him to be able to learn.”
