SMYRNA, Ga.,None — A Cobb County woman tells Channel 2 News an assistant teacher at a public school for autistic children savagely attacked her teenage son when he pulled the braids of her hair.
"He had scratches on his eye, neck, head and arm," the boy's mother, Debra Long, said.
Long showed Channel 2's Tom Regan pictures Long took of her son, Zachery, on the day she says he was assaulted in December 2009.
When she called the administrator at the Haven Academy in Smyrna, she was told it was a private employee matter.
Then, in February 2011, the educator involved appealed to the state to reverse a three-day suspension.
Long showed Regan witness statements from the hearing that said employees had to pull the teacher off the child.
"She was digging into his hair and they got one of her hands off, and she grabbed his throat and was choking him," Long said.
According to Long, Zachery, 13, was left traumatized by what happened.
The county has told her that he must remain in the school if she wants specialized public education for her child.
The family's lawyers said Cobb Public Schools has denied liability.
Attorney Mark Marden said he will file a $3.4 million suit against the county next week for negligence.
He told Regan damages sought would cover the cost of moving the teen to a private school for autistic children.
"This is an assault and battery. An assault and battery, clear cut," said Marden.
Regan emailed Cobb Schools and a spokesman said the school system policy dictates no comment on pending litigation.
WSBTV
