Lawsuit: Special ed aide ‘body slammed’ 10-year-old with autism

A lawsuit against Clark County School District alleges that a special education teacher’s assistant body slammed and rubbed dirt into the scalp of an elementary school boy with autism in April.

The complaint was filed in District Court on Monday on behalf of Yazmina Ruiz and her son by her lawyer Andre Lagomarsino. The complaint lists Red Rock Elementary School specialized programs teacher’s assistant Alicia Fletcher, teacher Heidi Hunter and campus security monitor Deonte Harris as co-defendants.

The lawsuit accuses Fletcher of using excessive force against the then-10-year-old boy, and Hunter and Harris of failing to protect him from Fletcher’s alleged assault.

The Clark County district attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges against Fletcher, court records show. Neither Hunter nor Harris were charged with a crime related to the alleged incident.

“The family was disappointed to hear that (Fletcher) was not prosecuted for behavior that was clearly caught on video that harmed” the boy, Lagomarsino said.

Fletcher and Harris could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Harris declined to comment on the lawsuit during a phone call with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The school district said it does not comment on pending litigation.

‘Body slammed’ against planter

The complaint alleged Fletcher pinned the boy on the ground and allowed students to kick him after he threw dirt at her two times on April 24.

While Fletcher sat on a concrete planter near Red Rock Elementary’s jungle gym, the lawsuit claimed, the boy sat next to her, grabbed a handful of dirt from the planter and tossed it in Fletcher’s direction. An unnamed staff member redirected the 10-year-old to return to the jungle gym, the complaint stated.

Later, the boy returned to the planter where Fletcher was seated, grabbed another handful of dirt and tossed it in her direction, according to the lawsuit. Fletcher responded by throwing dirt at the boy, rubbing the dirt into his hair and “forcefully” grabbing his arm, the lawsuit claimed.

An unnamed student aide spoke to Fletcher while she held onto the boy’s arm, the complaint said. He was in “visible discomfort” attempting to pull away from Fletcher, but Fletcher allegedly told the aide that the boy needed to know she would “stick through this,” according to the complaint.

After the aide walked away, the lawsuit alleged, the boy tried to free himself from Fletcher, but she pulled him toward her, grabbed his leg and “body slammed” him against the planter.

When Hunter noticed Fletcher’s actions and approached her, the lawsuit said, Fletcher told Hunter that everything was OK, despite the boy struggling to pull away from Fletcher. The complaint stated that Hunter made no effort to stop Fletcher and did not report the incident to her superiors.

After Hunter walked away, Fletcher threw the boy to the ground, took his shoes off and pinned him to the asphalt, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleged that another student kicked the boy and threw his shoe at him while Fletcher continued to pin him to the ground.

Harris then approached Fletcher to speak to her, the lawsuit alleged, but did not attempt to get Fletcher to release the boy despite another child kicking him in front of the two adults. The complaint said Harris remained close by and spoke to Fletcher again. She eventually released the boy, and the two adults walked away, leaving the boy “sitting alone near the planter, crying and in visible distress,” according to the lawsuit.

Later in the day, Harris saw bruises on the boy’s face, prompting him to report the alleged incident to the school’s principal. Fletcher was placed on unpaid leave after the incident, the lawsuit stated.

The school district did not respond to questions about whether Fletcher, Hunter or Harris were still employed by the district. Harris is listed as a staff member on Red Rock Elementary’s website, while Fletcher and Hunter are not.

Ruiz and her son are seeking excess of $15,000 in general and compensatory damages as well as special damages in excess of $15,000, the lawsuit stated.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.