PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The 11-year-old boy accused of attacking a five-year-old boy on a Northview Public Schools bus earlier this month has been charged.
The bus driver on duty when it happened has been reinstated without any disciplinary action taken, though the district has implemented new school bus safety protocol.
The incident happened on March 9 in Plainfield Township.
"He had bruises on him... he was in pain, just kept complaining of abdominal pain,” the boy's mother, Timia Blantion, told FOX 17 back on March 17.
The Kent County Sheriff's Office confirmed to FOX 17 Wednesday morning that they had concluded their investigation and had sent the case to a juvenile prosecutor.
“But, in the case of a juvenile, instead of actually charging, the term is actually petition, they petition the case over to the juvenile court,” Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young explained Wednesday afternoon.
"They do an evaluation, they will look at the 11-year-old who was the assaulter in this case, and try to find out more causal, why this happened.”
Sgt. Eric Brunner, with the Sheriff's office, tells us the parents of both children have been informed of the charge.
Surveillance video from the bus does exist— both Northview Public Schools and the sheriff's office have decided not to release it publicly.
Northview Schools denied a Freedom of Information Act request FOX 17 submitted for the video, citing privacy for the children seen and heard in it.
"We will not release the video because, obviously, the school bus is full of, guess what, kids... and so, we really just can't release that video in this context," Sheriff LaJoye-Young said Wednesday.
FOX 17 briefly spoke to the boy's father, Jermon Burrell, Wednesday morning after news of the criminal charge was announced.
He said he is, "happy that at least one person is being charged."
The boy's parents were shown the surveillance video taken from the bus during the attack— telling FOX 17 afterward that there was more than just one student involved.
"I would still like to know the repercussions for the others involved," he told FOX 17 Wednesday morning.
While he understands that the other students' potential involvement may not have crossed into criminal territory, he hopes the school further confronts what happened.
"I hope the school at least takes action," he said.
Sheriff LaJoye-Young explained to FOX 17 Wednesday afternoon that any other students that were possibly involved may be reprimanded at school, outside of the criminal justice system.
“Law enforcement criminally charging somebody, it has to be a criminal offense," she said. "Bad behavior might be inappropriate, it might be rude, it might be even escalating the circumstance. That doesn't make it illegal.”
In terms of the woman driving the school bus when the incident occurred— she was put on paid administrative leave after it happened but has since been reinstated.
The district told FOX 17 on Wednesday that, "after conducting a thorough review in collaboration with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, the school district determined that no disciplinary action against the bus driver was warranted.”
She has also not been charged with anything criminal in the matter.
“Certainly, the driver is not involved in this assault. This driver is trying to not only drive a big yellow school bus through crowded streets but trying to monitor the behavior of several students,” Sheriff LaJoye-Young said.
A spokesperson for the district sent FOX 17 the following statement Wednesday afternoon:
“At Northview Public Schools, the safety of our students is and always will be a primary concern.
While we cannot share specific details, including information on those who were involved due to federal privacy laws governing student information, we can say that we continue to work alongside the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in its investigation on this matter.
As we do whenever there is the need, our dedicated team of mental health professionals, and our community partners, are providing support to all involved.
Specific to our Transportation Department, we recently completed a thorough review of our processes and protocols, which led to increasing measures to ensure that our youngest students remain seated at the front of the bus at all times."
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