‘I’m outraged.’ School bus monitor accused of choking 7-year-old, New York media reports

A bus monitor in Greece, New York is facing criminal charges after being accused of choking a 7-year-old student, local media reports.

The boy said the bus monitor “grabbed him by the neck with two hands and choked him,” his father told ABC 13.

“Literally, head went forward, head went back, hit the seat and then my son sat down and it looked like he was in distress, like he was scared,” his father told the outlet.

The boy said that the bus monitor, who is 70, apologized afterward, saying “they always play like that,” Rochester First reported. The boy rejected that explanation and complained of neck pain when he got home, the outlet reported.

The Greece Central School District placed the bus monitor on leave and Greece police said he has been charged with obstruction of breathing and endangering the welfare of a child, WHEC reported. His next court appearance is set for June 14.

The boy’s father told the outlet that his son is terrified of riding the bus again, and that he took his son to an urgent care clinic for treatment.

He also told ABC 13 that he believes the bus monitor should lose their job over the incident, and that he’s disturbed that a white bus monitor treated a Black child that way.

“As a parent and as a Black man, I’m disturbed, I’m outraged and I’m pretty mad at how the Greece schools handled the situation,” he told the outlet.

The Greece Police Department and Greece Central School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 12:55 PM with the headline "‘I’m outraged.’ School bus monitor accused of choking 7-year-old, New York media reports."