School board addresses video depicting student violence at NDSS
The Limestone District School Board has responded after a video showing one student aggressing against another at an area high school was circulated widely on social media.
The video, which claims to have be taken in the halls of Napanee District Secondary School, shows one student aggressively tackling another student to the floor. The attack appears to be premeditated, as the aggressor runs up and tackles the other student from behind before acknowledging the camera. Those sharing the video online called for the LDSB to take action on the bullying behaviour.
According to those with the LDSB, the Board is aware of the incident and has already taken action.
“The Board and school are aware of this incident. We acted immediately to launch an investigation and inform police,” the LDSB said in a statement to Kingstonist.
The LDSB is not able to share further details, as doing so would “violate the privacy of the students and families involved,” and because the matter is still under investigation by Lennox and Addington County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Board said.
“We can share that the students involved are uninjured, and safe, and we are working with everyone involved to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. The Board has procedures in place that set clear standards of behaviour which apply to all students, as well as procedures and guidelines for determining consequences for breaches of behavior and the code of conduct,” the Board said.
“The Board and staff at NDSS take such incidents seriously and will continue to work to ensure the safety and well-being of all of our students.”
The LDSB also shared a message regarding the sharing of the video in question – or any similar videos – on social media platforms.
“We would also like remind students – and anyone – sharing information such as video and other commentary on social media platforms may come with consequences,” the Board said. “Making threats or encouraging assaultive behavior may result in criminal investigation or charges.”
UPDATE (Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, 1:55 p.m.): The Lennox and Addington Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have released the following statement in relation to this incident:
The Lennox & Addington (L&A) County detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is aware of the incident and is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the recorded interaction.
The social media posts have generated a number of responses. Some of those responses are threatening in nature or suggest/promote a course of action by way of retribution against the alleged perpetrator. It is very important that everyone remain cognizant that their online activity may subject them to criminal liability in the real-world. The OPP discourages, in the strongest terms, any form of vigilantism in response to this, or any other, incident. It is very important to remember that social media posts often lack complete context and there can often be a great deal of relevant information that isn’t available to the viewer.
Based on the results of their investigation, OPP have charged a 16-year-old Greater Napanee youth with one count of assault contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the L&A County OPP detachment at 613-354-3369, or toll free at 1-888-310-1122.
Kingstonist will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as information becomes available.
Hi, I know you punish the aggressors, Violence of this type does not usually just happen, usually it takes weeks if not months to escalate to this. The aggressor needs to be educated to understand empathy and the victim needs to know that he has your, the schools, the students and community support. This will not be accomplished in a week, or month. It is obvious to me that you your school and School Board are NOT prepared to act on this as the students did not report this or it was reported and the appropriate action was not taken. You have a Big problem on your hands good luck in dealing with this properly.
Beautifully said ????
This is a far more complex issue than to simply rehabilitate the aggressor, and to teach empathy; this is a widespread failure of the educational system to teach empathy, boundaries, sexual education, community, teamwork, civics (this is a BIG one), discerning facts from fiction, and responsible use of technology and social media.
A lot of the problems we see today – bullying, sexual assaults, extremism, violence, abuse, crime, among many other things – are tied to poor outcomes caused by a lackluster education system, and a mental health system that I know all too well is completely ineffectual, unless you have the money.
Do something about that but bullying elsewhere and other school. Wont return calls nothing. My sons has been bullied to where being choked off school does nothing neither does ldsb. My friends daughter got choked off so bad she lost her breath no one was around on school yard . Kindergarten yard and nothing done about it. Because a video was posted of this. Stuff being done. Bullshit to me. But other hand about time stepping up and helping stop this generation of bullying.
We need to stand by our rules. No bullying policy. Seems everytime one surfaces, the incident is not dealt with seriously. Great that this incident was reported to the authorities. Let’s see the follow through. There needs to be consequences to the actions. Community service? Either within the school or the community. A one or two day suspension is like slap on the wrist. Some teens would see this as a badge of honour. As an adult, our consequences would be much more severe.
Was the student who produced this video intending to further embarrass the victim? Should they install camera’s where crime activity is known to happen? Should the school board encourage more videos of behavior at schools to become public as to pick out who, when and where the problem(s) begin?
“We can share that the students involved are uninjured, and safe, and we are working with everyone involved to ensure an incident like this does not happen again.” Really??? What about the mental health of this student victim? This person is not uninjured! This is abuse. Deal with this like it happened on the streets. Our children are supposed to be safe in school.
A 1 day suspension for Violence is not really a punishment…also the VICTIM is MENTALLY CHALLENGED …this in itself is Criminal ..a 1 day suspension for planning an attack on a young man who can’t even defend himself & then carrying it out…this is a DISGRACE…
Maybe the student indicated their physical and mental health are both intact?
Assuming injury is the same as assuming lack of injury. Both are assumptions, and the people involved have more information than either of us do. I take them at their word.
I’m glad the victim is doing well.
Seriously, the video should provide enough evidence to have the police called and the bully charged with assault. Not a very good example for others who think the same way as him. With the lack of help from those students nearby I would say he is not the only one being bullied. A life like this will only take the bully to a very bad place. The school board is not only failing the victims but also the bully.
This type of behavior is unacceptable. Unfortunately bad behavior within schools is on the increase because teachers can’t do much regarding discipline. Parents are responsible for that. Parents don’t do anything when they receive a call regarding their child’s bad behavior.& parents are the ones who took the teachers control of away. The only thing principals, vp, teachers can do is try to talk the kid out of doing what they are doing and most of the time it’s with bribery. Example: come with me and you can calm down by (reading , a snack etc) . If a child is asked to take a seat and the child say NO there is nothing a teacher can do. This is the next generation. If a kindergarten teacher can’t establish rules with a child like that imagine what happens by the time they get to high school. I understand that the strap needed to go and spanking in school. But a teacher should be able to place a hand on a child’s shoulder and gently put some pressure on the child’s shoulder indicating they need to sit down. Re-write what teaching staff can do. Take back the classrooms.