\u201cHeather and Richard Harris trusted that their 4-year-old son would be safe at Arka Montessori,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cTheir trust was violated when the safe environment they were promised turned into a child fight club.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arka Montessori Academy did not return a request for comment by the Star-Telegram on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Caught on camera<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, U.H. was \u201chysterically and uncontrollably crying\u201d when his mother arrived to pick him up from the daycare the afternoon of April 27. Teacher Chynia Johnson said he\u2019d gotten into a fight with another boy, \u201cand all she did was separate them,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n
Heather Harris demanded to see video footage, but Button said the daycare didn\u2019t initially want to show it to her. The mother realized something serious had happened when she heard one of the workers watching the footage gasp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when the mom said, \u2018I got to see this,\u2019 and came around and watched the video footage, and then later got the rest of it,\u201d Button told the Star-Telegram.<\/p>\n
The Harrises\u2019 son had been transferred to another classroom about 4:30 p.m. when his regular teacher went home for the day. According to the lawsuit, video footage shows the teacher in the new classroom talking to someone at the door. The teacher doesn\u2019t see a little boy, identified as Chynia Johnson\u2019s son, hit U.H. on the back, the suit states. The two boys start fighting, but stop by the time the teacher turns around, according to the video.<\/p>\n
Johnson comes in a few minutes later to watch the children while the other teacher takes a restroom break. Video footage shows Johnson\u2019s son point at U.H. and then run up to him and push him in the chest with both hands, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen U.H. puts his hands up to stop the boy, Arka Montessori Teacher Chynia Johnson lunges forward, grabbing at U.H. with her left hand as he tries to get away,\u201d the lawsuit states based on video evidence. \u201cShe gets a hold of U.H.\u2019s arm and aggressively grabs and shakes him before shoving him away forcefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, the video shows Johnson standing up and saying something to her son. She then steps aside and the little boy charges full speed toward U.H., the document states. U.H. puts out his arms and leg to defend himself, and Johnson\u2019s son falls down, according to the suit.<\/p>\n
The portion of the video obtained by the Star-Telegram shows Johnson grab U.H. by both arms. There\u2019s no audio, but the teacher seems to be screaming in the 4-year-old\u2019s face, according to the lawsuit. Johnson turns around to pick up her son, and the other teacher enters the classroom.<\/p>\n
A moment later Johnson sets her son down and reaches out to grab U.H. by his left arm. She seems to be pulling him toward her, according to the video, while he struggles to get away. The video then shows Johnson grab her own son and push him in front of U.H.<\/p>\n
According to the other teacher\u2019s statement in the lawsuit, \u201cJohnson was telling her son to kick U.H. and trying to force her son to hit U.H.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.H. appears to try to kick the child in front of him. Johnson is still holding U.H. by the wrist. The video shows her yank his leg out from under him, causing U.H. to lose his balance and hit the floor, according to the lawsuit. The other teacher is still standing by the door and doesn\u2019t appear to intervene.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing prepared me for seeing my child aggressively handled and attacked by another child at a teacher\u2019s orders,\u201d Heather Harris said in a news release distributed by The Button Law Firm. \u201cMy heart just shattered into pieces because I couldn\u2019t be there to protect my son from being harmed, all while he was being cared for by a daycare that I trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.H. was left with scratches and bruises from the incident, along with headaches and ongoing psychological trauma, according to the complaint. Raised voices or other loud noises often cause him to start crying in fear, his parents said. He\u2019s also easily frustrated and struggles with anxiety.<\/p>\n
Prior issues<\/p>\n
Button said Heather Harris and Richard Harris decided to come forward because they felt Arka Montessori needed to be held accountable.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, the state\u2019s investigation into the incident revealed the daycare knew of previous issues with Johnson but failed to take action. An administrator and teacher reported hearing Johnson yelling at the children under her care. Another teacher said she\u2019d seen Johnson \u201cgrabbing children by their upper arms and roughly sitting them in their chair,\u201d the complaint alleges.<\/p>\n
\u201cArka Montessori negligently operated its facility and endangered the health and well-being of U.H. and others when they failed to provide a safe environment for children in their care, negligently retained unqualified and untrained employees, failed to supervise its employees, leaving 4-year-old U.H. and other innocent children in the hands of incompetent, unqualified, irresponsible, untrained, and unsupervised teachers. Liability is clear,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n
The Harris\u2019 are requesting a jury trial and compensation for their damages.<\/p>\n
Button said he\u2019s not aware of any criminal charges against Johnson at this time, but he hopes publicizing the incident sends a message to other daycares.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of these failures by this daycare to put a teacher with known prior issues in charge of children \u2014 a ticking time bomb \u2014 a four-year-old little innocent boy paid the price, and it changed his life forever,\u201d Button said.<\/p>\n
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