According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, a teacher’s aide at a Sumter County high school was arrested after investigators watched surveillance footage of the lady physically beating a special needs kid.
Marceeda Walker, 49, was charged with third-degree assault and battery following a social media firestorm in which Sumter resident Derrick Hastie detailed in a Facebook post on Oct. 14 how Walker attacked his autistic son, Stylez Hastie, 14. The attack occurred on September 10 in Lakewood High School’s cafeteria, but the school never told Derrick Hastie or the child’s mother, Shenise Spann, about the occurrence. Instead, they learned about the incident via a witness and a relative who was also a Lakewood student.
“On the video, we saw [Walker] choking [Styelz] by the back of his neck as she continued to push him down to the ground,” Derrick Hastie told The State. “My son looked to have no idea what was going on, so he started jerking away, prompting [Walker] to drag him up by the neck and push him back down to the ground, almost into a garbage can. [Walker] did this approximately three times.”
Stylez, a Lakewood freshman, is nonverbal and has limited mobility due to autism. Derrick Hastie also revealed that the 14-year-old continues to wear pull-ups to school.
The school did not report the event to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, as required by state law.
Following the State’s request, a district spokesman stated that they needed to consult with their legal counsel before responding.
According to Derrick Hastie, on September 12, he and Spann contacted Lakewood’s principle, Maggie Wright, about the purported assault on Stylez.
According to Derrick Hastie, Wright informed the parents that she would study surveillance video footage from the day of the event and get back to them.
After examining the film, Wright called Derrick Hastie and Spann to inform them that Walker, a paraprofessional or teacher’s aide at the school, had been fired. According to Derrick Hastie, Wright informed the parents that they would not be able to see the footage due to legal issues.
Instead, Wright stated that the school district’s attorney would contact the parents shortly, according to Derrick Hastie.
A few days later, the attorney called Derrick Hastie and Spann and asked if they were willing to accept a settlement offer, which surprised them because they were only interested in seeing the video footage.
“We were not even thinking about suing, we just wanted to see what happened to our son,” Derrick Hastie told me.
Derrick Hastie’s Facebook post came on the same day that he and Spann were finally allowed to watch the video, October 14.
The post sparked a firestorm, with over 1,000 comments and 5,000 shares, culminating in a community demonstration in Sumter on Oct. 15, attended by over 600 individuals, according to Derrick Hastie.
According to the Sumter Item, Sumter County School District Vice Chair Brian Alston stated during the rally that he would request that the board conduct an investigation.
The tweet also spurred an inquiry into the case by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department, which led to Walker’s arrest on Friday. The investigation is underway.
Derrick Hastie expressed concern that he and Spann do not know how many additional times his kid has been assaulted because Stylez is unable to talk.
“If something like this could happen in an open area like a cafeteria that has cameras, what’s happening in the classroom, that doesn’t have cameras, when that door shuts?” asked him.
Walker was taken into the Sumter County Detention Center and later granted a $2,125 cash bond under the condition that she not contact the victim or his family, according to court records.
Derick Hastie stated that he and Spann have obtained legal counsel and intend to file a civil complaint against the school.
Another latest assault in Sumter schools.
In addition to accusations of Sytlez’s assault on Tuesday, another incident was recorded at Bates Middle School in Sumter County on October 16.
Dorthy Johnson, 48, the school’s custodian, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and battery after a student said that Johnson assaulted him while he was sipping water from a fountain in the corridor.
