DeKalb County

Mother says assistant principal used excessive force to break up fight

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County mother says an assistant principal used excessive force during a fight between students.

She says he picked up her daughter and slammed her down on the lunchroom floor. Now, DeKalb County Schools says it’s investigating the incident, and the assistant principal has been removed from the school as the investigation unfolds.

Jada McClenton-Russell, an eighth grader at Redan Middle School in Lithonia, has been suspended for fighting.

"I wanted her to leave me alone,” Jada told Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus.

Jada says a classmate has picked on her since Day 1, which was three weeks ago.

The family just moved to DeKalb County from Michigan.

"(She) called me every day about this girl messing with (her),” Jada’s mom, Janae McClenton, said.

Jada says she got to the breaking point on Friday and started fighting the girl. That’s when the assistant principal tried to break it up.

Her mother showed Klaus cellphone video of the fight that she got off Facebook. %

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"He picks her up (off the lunchroom table) and swings her on the ground. That was just too much. That was too much,” McClenton said.

She’s upset about how the administrator handled her daughter.

Jada says it hurt her back.

"When I wake up in the morning, it be hard for me to sit up,” said Jada.

“It’s like he did more damage to her than her and the little girl did fighting each other,” McClenton said.

Jada told Klaus if she could go back, she would have ignored the taunting and stayed focused on school.

McClenton says her daughter deserved to be suspended but not manhandled.

"It was too much for a grown up to do to a child,” she said.

The school district sent a statement that reads, in part: “The District is actively investigating the incident at Redan Middle School. The Assistant Principal in the video has been removed pending completion of the investigation."

Dekalb County Schools says the assistant principal is still employed, pending the outcome of the investigation. A schools spokesman says the superintendent will make a recommendation in the coming days.