Darlington police say they reviewed school bus surveillance video that showed a teacher's aide and a school behavioral manager hit and push a 10-year-old special needs student from St. John's Elementary School.
**UPDATE** After NewsChannel 15 filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the video, Darlington police said Monday, April 30 that they will release that video on Monday, May 7. We'll post that video here on CarolinaLive.com and have it for you on NewsChannel 15.
The two school employees, Tomeka Self and Rosanna Dudley, have been arrested and charged with Simple Assault and Battery.
Police say the two were putting a safety harness on the child when they hit him on the head, slapped his face and pushed him.
Police Chief Danny Watson says the boy isn't able to communicate verbally, but was not aggressive at all toward the women. Chief Watson said the boy is severely handicapped and called it an unfortunate and horrible situation.
Police say they were contacted by Darlington County School District asking them to investigate the video. School district spokesperson Audrey Childers says school officials were alerted by a bus driver. Childers says Self and Dudley have been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
"This behavior is unacceptable, especially coming from adults who have been entrusted with the care of our children," said Dr. Rainey Knight, superintendent of the district. "We do not condone this behavior anywhere in our district for any child."
Chief Watson says they are in the process of pulling all available video from that school bus to see if any other incidents occurred.
