A Florida school employee “body slammed” a – year-old boy, fracturing his skull and leading to the arrest of at least one school supervisor, authorities said Tuesday.
The tussle happened on Feb. at AMIkids Pinellas , a private non-profit school for at-risk children in St. Petersburg, when “the victim … was reported to be ‘acting out’ during lunch,” according to a Pinellas Park police statement.
“A behavioral interventionist (BI) redirected the student to the ‘Room of Opportunity’ where a physical altercation transpired, “the police statement continued. “As a result of the altercation, the victim started to vomit and it is believed that he lost consciousness on more than one occasion.”
The man accused of body-slamming the child is 5 -foot-7 and about 300 pounds while the – year-old weighs about 100 pounds, police said.
The boy was under adult supervision for another two hours before being sent home, with a “trash can on the [school] bus in the event that the student vomited,” according to police.
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The boy’s mom was not immediately told about the altercation and he stayed home from school the following day, believing he had the flu, officials said.
He was eventually taken to All Children’s Hospital, where doctors found that “he had suffered a fractured skull, has two subdural hematomas, and a brain bleed , “all injuries linked to the incident at the school, police said.
Jarvis Delon West, – year-old from Pinellas Park, was arrested and booked on suspicion of failure to report child neglect and neglect of a child resulting in great bodily harm, according to jail records.
West is a behavioral interventionist at the school and was working as a supervisor the day of the incident, school officials and police said. He is not being being charged for the actual altercation.
“Another co-worker body slammed the boy,” Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Sibley told NBC News. West “should have been the one who called it in. But he did, contributing to the child neglect.”
“The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected,” according to police.
A school rep called last week’s incident “unacceptable” and said multiple employees have been suspended without pay, including the person who tussled with the boy.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities,” AMIkids spokesman Joseph Gallina said Tuesday. “This is unacceptable behavior. We strive to make a safe environment for our students.”
West could not be immediately reached for comment at his publicly listed phone numbers.
David K. Li is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
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