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Clear Creek HS student claims she was racially harassed, injured by Galveston Co. deputies
A Clear Creek High School student is claiming she was racially harassed and injured by three Galveston deputies for not wearing a mask. FOX 26's Tiffany Justice spoke with the family and their lawyer.
GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas - A Clear Creek High School student is saying she was racially harassed and injured by three Galveston County deputies on Monday for not wearing her face mask appropriately on Monday.
The stepfather, Quan Lyons, tells FOX 26 that her daughter now has a broken arm and suffered a concussion.
“She’s kind of traumatized about the ordeal,” said Lyons. “She has a broken right hand, mild concussion and she has contusions to her back and shoulder and she has a banged-up knee.“
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15-year-old student Kaidence Lyons said she was walking down the school hallway when an administrator asked her to put her mask over her nose.
The conversation turned into an argument quickly.
“One of the administrators came up to her in a very aggressive way. She used racial terms, never used her name, and always called her little Black girl,” said Ronald Haley Jr., family attorney.
Haley Jr. says that Lyons was then taken into a room with no surveillance cameras.
Another school official went in followed by three deputies with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office.
“She said when the three officers went in there, they immediately handcuffed her and slammed her to the ground and after that, she was in and out of consciousness,” said Haley.
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The Clear Creek School District has released a new statement Thursday on the allegations:
“In the Clear Creek Independent School District, we believe each person deserves to be physically and emotionally safe which is why CCISD immediately launched an investigation into a family’s public allegation that two CCISD employees physically and/or verbally accosted their child at Clear Creek High School. The family claims the student was targeted due to her race.
The school district has investigated these allegations, including a thorough review of video surveillance and eyewitness interviews. The school district has determined the family’s allegations to be false and defamatory. The family has not responded to our multiple requests to talk but instead they have chosen to use social media to threaten to harm and defame two well-respected educators.
While the school district must keep student discipline matters private due to federal law, we can unequivocally state that criminal charges and student discipline action were not about face coverings.
It is our hope the family will cooperate and participate in the investigation process so that their concerns can be fully addressed.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the family’s public claims against deputies assigned to the campus. All questions regarding that matter should be directed to their office.”
Kaidence was suspended for three days and she is also facing charges including resisting arrest, threat, and disorderly conduct.
The family attorney tells FOX 26, they plan on fighting those charges and are looking to transfer her.