Vanguard News Desk Editor
ATHERTON, CA – A U.S. District Court judge this week ruled a civil rights suit charging the mistreatment and arrest by police and Menlo-Atherton High School of a Black special needs student can move forward, despite motions by the school to have the case tossed.
“The decision sends a powerful message to the town, the personnel at Menlo (Atherton) High School and the police department that their mistreatment of a special student is unacceptable, and they will held accountable both professionally and personally,” said civil rights attorney John Burris.
Burris, in a statement released Thursday, said the student’s civil rights were violated by the vice principal and others when they physically assaulted the student when they arbitrarily refused to return his personal property and physically assaulted him when he attempted to reclaim his property.
The court ruled, added Burris, that because the student was a “special needs student” at the high school he was subject to the protection of the ADA, which was not provided. After the confrontation with the student, added the attorney, the principal called the police, who, “without just cause arrested the student and his companion.”
Burris claims the officers used excessive force awhile arresting them. The suit includes claims for violations of his and his companion’s civil rights for excessive force and false arrest.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin “denied most of the Sequoia Union High School District’s motions to dismiss most of claims in the lawsuit involving the arrest of the then Menlo-Atherton High School student in April 2023. The suit is against former M-A Vice Principals Stephen Emmi and Nick Muys,” according to The Almanac.
The lawsuit alleges, wrote the Almanac, “Emmi forcefully grabbed a confiscated water toy from K.C. and that he physically pushed the student. The court found the allegations are enough to ‘infer that Emmi touched K.C. in a harmful or offensive manner with the intent to do so.’”
The reported incident occurred on campus minutes before police arrested then-M-A student known as K.C. in the suit, near the school campus, said Burris.
“I’m very positive about the ruling,” said Burris, the plaintiff’s attorney. “The cause of actions that we made were based upon the conduct of the school district, the people there and the impact so I fully expected the court would recognize those issues.”
The Almanac reported the judge did not dismiss accusations against Emmi, SUHSD’s current wellness programs coordinator, for assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and the Bane Act. The district’s motion to dismiss the negligence claim against Muys was also denied.
The district’s motion to dismiss K.C.’s request for punitive damages from Emmi and Muys was denied. Punitive damages would award K.C. further payment from the defendants in addition to compensation.
The court ruling stated that “it is premature to conclude that K.C. is not entitled” to punitive damages. The judge reportedly only granted a motion to dismiss Ralph Act claims filed against Emmi, noting there is insufficient evidence that Emmi was biased against disabled children.
“At the heart of it all was this young man who had disability problems that the school district was aware of and they treated him in a harsh, disrespectful manner that was unbecoming,” said Burris to the Almanac, adding, “That’s the part that’s most disturbing to me…they didn’t respect him as a human being.”
Emmi faces additional charges for intentional infliction of emotional distress, said the Almanac, for “continuing to escalate the situation with K.C. while aware of his intellectual disability. The suit states Emmi recklessly disregarded a probability of causing emotional distress.”
“On a motion to dismiss, these allegations plausibly support that Muys failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances and that this failure caused harm to K.C,” the court wrote.
Burris told the Almanac he believes the school district will “get a profound lesson from (the suit),” adding, “I think kids of color who have special needs problems should be treated like all kids with special needs.”
Burris confirmed there is a case management conference Nov. 13.
