Bus Driver Beat Boy w/Down syndrome

[Guest SweetNSexyDiva]

I read this and it made me feel sick. You trust the people who transport your children to school, or at the school, to make sure your children are safe. Not only did the driver smack the boy, but the boy had Down syndrome as well!

 

Bus Driver Beat Boy w/Down syndrome

Man arrested after child with Down syndrome carried tape recorder

By REID J. EPSTEIN and TOM HEINEN

[email protected]

Last Updated: May 5, 2003

Parents of a 9-year-old with Down syndrome wanted to know more about reports of their son's misbehavior on the school bus, so they put a tape recorder in his backpack. What they say it recorded - the driver cursing, threatening and hitting their son - led to the bus driver's arrest.

 

"I never, ever expected to hear what we heard on the tape," said Rosemary Mutulo, whose son, Jacob, attends the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a Milwaukee public school at 3727 S. 78th St. "Him yelling and threatening, and Jacob being hit. . . . It made me sick to my stomach to hear this man threatening my child."

 

On the tape, recorded April 29, Mutulo said, the driver can be heard shouting at Jacob repeatedly during the approximately 45-minute ride because the boy is making bus engine noises or yelling. At one point, she said, the driver stops the bus and can be heard moving toward the boy, followed by what sounds like a hand slapping clothing.

 

Mutulo said the driver threatens to break her son's arm and beat him, and says, "Shut up or I'll tape your mouth shut, and you know I'll do it." She declined to play the tape for the Journal Sentinel.

 

The Mutulos brought the tape to officials' attention, and on Saturday night police arrested the bus driver, a 28-year-old Milwaukee man, at his home on the south side. According to the arrest report, the recommended charges are physical abuse of a child and disorderly conduct.

 

The Journal Sentinel is not naming the man pending formal charges from the district attorney's office, which reviewed the matter on Monday. The man remained at the Milwaukee County Jail Monday night.

 

According to Milwaukee Police Capt. Nan Hegerty, Jacob was making noise on the bus and the driver "slapped him a couple times."

 

The driver began working for Specialized Care Transport of West Milwaukee at the beginning of the 2002-'03 school year, his father said, and drove seven children to and from school. He said his son had written behavior reports about the boy "about two or three times a week" since September, and that his son told him he "tapped" Jacob's leg away because the boy was interfering with his driving.

 

Charges of abuse, the driver's father said, are "a big, outrageous fat lie. I know my son, and he would never hit kids." He said he had not spoken to his son since his arrest.

 

Mutulo said she had been getting notices about her son's conduct for months.

 

"We never had this problem with him before, which is why we decided to put the tape recorder onto the bus to see what was Jacob's actual behavior," she said. "And, shockingly, we found out it wasn't Jacob's behavior. It was the bus driver's."

 

Jacob, a third-grader, functions cognitively like a 5- or 6-year-old on many levels, said Vince Mutulo, his father.

 

"What you have to realize is this is a special education bus," the mother said. "If you expect these children to be sitting quietly, it's completely unrealistic."

 

According to his parents, the boy is not able to carry on a conversation, does not articulate well, and can be difficult to understand. Lately, when his mother would say it was time to go to school, he would reply, "No. Stay here," she said. When asked why, he would just say, "No" or shake his head.

 

The driver has no state criminal record and has worked with children with disabilities in the past, coaching a Special Olympics softball team in 2001, according to Karin Hawley, area director for the Special Olympics.

 

Michael Turza, the director of business services for Milwaukee Public Schools, said the bus company has worked with the district for the last six or seven years. He said it operates about 20 buses, primarily for students with special needs.

 

An employee at Specialized Care Transport, said the owner, Michael Horan, was in a doctor's appointment all day Monday. The employee, who would not give his name said, "I can't say anything about anything."

 

Turza said special-needs drivers operate under the same rules as those who drive the general student population. School buses serving MPS are not equipped with video cameras.

 

Turza said the first anyone at MPS administration heard about the incident was Friday, when the Mutulo family told MPS they would seek criminal charges against the driver. He said the district asked Specialized Care Transport late Friday to suspend the driver.

 

Susan Miller, principal at the Academy of Accelerated Learning, declined to comment on the incident Monday.

Edited May 6, 2003 by SweetNSexyDiva

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Least the asshole will get fired and maybe worse. I'm sure it's hard enough to have a kid with Downs, but then to have to worry about his safety at all times by people who are suppose to be watching out for him can only make it scarier.

[Guest DrTom]

Isn't is "Down's Syndrome," not "Down Syndrome?" I wouldn't expect a journalist to make such a silly error.

 

Anyway, the chap is obviously going to get fired, and either have some hefty community service commitments looking at him or go to jail. I wouldn't have the patience to be a school bus driver of any kind, but if that's your job, you simply can't do things like threaten kids and smack them around.

[Guest SweetNSexyDiva]

I think you are right Dr. Tom...

[Guest Choken One]

I always hear these type of stories about Bus Drivers being bad to kids but I never actully thought it was true.

 

That guy is a real ass hole.

 

I'm sorry that the guy likely failed or dropped High School and couldn't get laid but that doesn't give him a reason to exploit his "Power" over helpless kids.

[Guest bob_barron]

Isn't is "Down's Syndrome," not "Down Syndrome?" I wouldn't expect a journalist to make such a silly error.

 

Anyway, the chap is obviously going to get fired, and either have some hefty community service commitments looking at him or go to jail. I wouldn't have the patience to be a school bus driver of any kind, but if that's your job, you simply can't do things like threaten kids and smack them around.

Yea- It is Down's Syndrome not Down syndrome. Given the fact that the guy can't get the main part of his story correct- I question the legitimancy of this.

[Guest Galactic Gigolo]

I help out the special needs children during their gym period/trips/Special Olympics, and I believe two of them have Down's. That's some pretty fucking inexcuseable actions.

 

Though I do question why they call the school, "Accelerated Learning."

[Guest SP-1]

Crush the bus driver's face.

 

Not irreperably. Just scare him.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Though I do question why they call the school, "Accelerated Learning."

I thought the same thing. Probably to make the kids feel special. Wouldn't be wise to call the school "Retard Learning".

[Guest TheGame2705]

Though I do question why they call the school, "Accelerated Learning." 

I thought the same thing. Probably to make the kids feel special. Wouldn't be wise to call the school "Retard Learning".

Am I bad person for laughing at this alot?

[Guest Walter Sobzak]

Though I do question why they call the school, "Accelerated Learning." 

I thought the same thing. Probably to make the kids feel special. Wouldn't be wise to call the school "Retard Learning".

Am I bad person for laughing at this alot?

Yes, yes you are. Don't worry about it too much, after all that retard probably had it coming to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know there was someone here ready to hit that quote button to fire back with a burning missive, shooting me down with moral indignation. Don't Bother. IT WAS A JOKE.