The mother of a 13-year-old boy is calling on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to release surveillance video that they say shows an administrator at Renaissance West STEAM Academy assaulting her son in October.
Her attorneys have drafted a complaint — shared with the media — and say they plan to sue.
Attorneys for Ashley Bolton say they’ve seen the video, but the district has declined to release it to them or to local media. They allege the video shows a Renaissance West administrator restraining Bolton’s son, attempting to punch him and then slamming him face first into the floor.
Attorney Faith Fox said the family wants the video to be made public, and for the administrator, who still works at the school, to face consequences.
“It’s very hard to understand why there hasn’t been a more proactive response by the school or by the DA or the police department to file criminal charges,” Fox said. “I mean, this wasn’t just something small, and it was against a child.”
A draft civil lawsuit complaint shared with the media says a school resource officer determined both parties were at fault, but the family says the video contradicts that, showing the alleged assault occurred “without warning” and was started by the administrator.
Fox says the family is pushing for the video’s release before suing. CMS says it does not comment on active litigation and didn’t answer questions about the video.
Bolton says her son suffered a traumatic brain injury and other injuries. She said the incident started after the administrator confronted her son for wearing headphones against school policy.
“As a parent, I was just devastated to watch him be manhandled like that, especially over something so small,” Bolton said. “No child should be handled like that. You send them to school thinking they’ll be fine. I mean, things happen. But he was just, like, tossed around like a ragdoll. I was hurt.”
Bolton’s son no longer attends the school.
