Teachers accused of swearing at autistic kindergartners won't be criminally charged
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Criminal charges won't be filed against two teachers who parents accused of swearing at and physically abusing autistic kindergartners.
Cursing, the sound of slapping and the young students' screams and cries can be heard on a recording of the Pembroke Pines elementary school teacher and a teacher's aide, a police report says.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said the case was not formally presented by law enforcement, although the police department consulted with prosecutors during their investigation.
"It is our understanding that the police department closed the case after reviewing all of the evidence, including several hours of video footage," said spokeswoman Paula McMahon, and prosecutors agreed with the police department's decision.
The teacher was identified by parents as Tahisha-Ann Brown. The union confirmed her teacher's aide was Joyce Latricia Bradley.
After one of the students swore at home, his parents sent him to school with a recording device attached to his backpack. They sent their findings to authorities, which included a recording of the teachers allegedly lashing out at students, many of whom have trouble communicating.
The "authenticity" of the audio had never been verified and "it doesn't prove the teachers cursed at children _ they could have been talking to each other," said Anne Fusco, the teachers union president. "They didn't do anything wrong."
In May when the allegations surfaced, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie met with the parents of seven children in the Pasadena Lakes Elementary classroom where the two educators allegedly verbally and physically mistreated their special-needs students.
Runcie vowed at that meeting that the teacher and the aide would never work in Broward County again, parents said. Both were reassigned from the school and away from students, a school district spokeswoman said in May.
A school district spokeswoman could not immediately confirm their employment status Wednesday.
_Sun Sentinel
