BERCH EM MQSESPc

15 Pages·2017·0.71 MB·English

~~ 75 Broad Street
Milford, CT 06460
T: 203.783.1200
BERCH EM F: 203.878.2235
MQSESPc
1221 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
T: 203.227.9545
F: 203.226.1641
BERCHEMMOSES.COM
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Prepa;ed by Paula N. Anthony, Esq.
July 20,.2018
{01147907.DOCX Ver. 1}
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Summary of Findings
II. Background
III. Witness Statements
IV.
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v.
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{01147903.000< Ver. 1}
I. Summary of Findings
On June 22, 2018, this office was retained by New Haven Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Caro~rks, to
investigate the facts surrounding the restraint of a student by BOE employee Frank Redente at Wilbur
Cross High School on May 4, 2018, to determine whether Redente's actions were appropriate under the
circumstances.
emplo~
The investigation included interviews of Redente, as well as Board of Education and other
knowle~ge. th~ fail~i~W'ear
individuals with_ of incident. The involved student was contacted, but at
the scheduled ttme of hts mtervtew. Efforts to reschedule were unsuccessful. Relewrn~}te~tlfentary
evidence, including witness statements, police and other reports, gathered from ,:oiar't~Js<?iir~s was
reviewed and analyzed. Relevant Board of Education policies and statutory ' sf(}~ere also
reviewed, as applicable. t ~f%.,. .
~horoug~ i~vestigation, evi~enc~ c~~~~~,,~!defite's
After the supports :he followi.ng actions
precedmg the mctdent escal_ated the st~atton to a pomt. of phys~~al.cort£i~~tl'~ ~~th the student; (2)
Redente's subsequent restramt was not m accordance wtth Board o{Ed,y¢~ttofit,..pohctes and/or statutory
.
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{01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
II. Background
On May 4, 2018, Board of Education employee Frank Redente was involved in a physical confrontation
with- a freshman student at Wilbur Cross High School (WCHS) in New Haven. The altercation was
captured on video, and personally witnessed by several individuals. Redente was placed on paid
administrative leave immediately following the incident pending investigation. The matter was also
referred to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) based on concerns of possible
t
excessive force by Redente. DCF determined that allegations of abuse were unsubstantiale and closed
its case on June 22, 2018, citing insufficient evidence.
Redente has worked for New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) for approximately 24 yei~~ ·· . en a
Youth Development Coordinator since July 2015 and has been assigned to WCHS f, · tftei',Pis ·years.
According to the applicable job description, the Youth Development Coordinator · "ttU,;~hool staff,
parents,. students, and co~munity based organizations to d.evelop progra~~ anq>S :~~.facilitate the
academtc and psychosoctal development of students, wtth an empha)V~Qn. \ t~u~. s'&dents from
engaging in at risk behaviors. It does not appear from the job desc~,!j')~o . · Jecf'~fff~t the Youth
Development Coordinator is directly responsible for student discip,lin~l alt6\~~'{t is noted that pursuant
to BOE Policy 5114(a) "[a]ll school district employees share a resgp~lbi!.qx~fo~upervising the behavior
odf st~~etrntst_to ~.~lp them meet standards of conduct establi~P.,~.,,?Y.£~he1I}~.afd;.of Education or the school
a mtnts a ton. ,.,..
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Prior to July 2015, Redente was employed by NHPS,,~in otfi"e~ capacities, specifically as a Dropout
Prevention Specialist and School Security Officer._ .., .,'A~r_ordintf1:o his personnel records, during his
empl~yment with ~HPS, Redente was p:eviously d\~ci)l:[tetl:;;gr r~primanded for his beh~vior ~n several
occastons: There ts reference to a posstble ver:bal. \t-armrtg, relatmg to a verbal altercatiOn wtth a co
worker in 2006; in 2007, he received a w.~~h'el!~J~-!Pjfig~·f-or. an off-duty inci~ent which resulted in an arrest
(the charges were later nolled); and,,~20,l~;:\l,~~,~~jreferred to counseling and transferred to another
school following another off-duty in<#dent intrqfviQg"lnappropriate and unlawful behavior. Of note, none
of the previous disciplinary issues invdty~d stu.2~nts.
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~t the ti~e of the incide?t, ..~ )\a fr~~fi~~n at WC_HS. He has _an extensiv_e disciplinary history in
hts short time at WCHS, mclgdtng'tht~~ Level4 suspensiOns for phystcal altercations wtth other students;
other offenses include Uf\~,?(C~~~d' abs.~h:~e from class and insubordination for using offensive language
2
toward staff.-rec,eiv~~,&:~,:~.;;d~)tfsuspension as a result of his actions in the May 4, 2018 incident.
Upon his retom from;;,thahs_uspension, ..w as reportedly involved in another physical altercation with
staff and receiveci,.!l<.~d\~~y~"':~spension and recommendation for expulsion.
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{01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
III. Witness Statements
In investigating this matter, several Board of Education e~IM@yees - interviewed, including Frank
Redente, Edgar Miller, John Valus, Lonnie Shealy, al}~:tWicha~~itty. In addition, Frank Brady, a third
party vendor who. works .with staff and student~a t WQti:~• was also i~terviewed. Al~hough interviews
were scheduled wtth the mvolved student, .:a nd anot~er student Witness,-· neither apt?,fied for
their respective interview; subsequent atte~pts by.NHPS to qifact them to reschedule tp interviews
were unsuccessful. Rel~Dnt documeq~, wttness statements, personnel records, p'QJi_ce reports,
corresp~nd~j&& and. emai~s~ a.s well as pertment Board of Educati~n pol.icies ~nd a~plicab~e~~~es were
also reviewetf~he mvestigation focused on whether Redente's achonsfjtcludmg his ph,rsicll\.cO?i~ft and
if;)
restraint of the student, were appropriate under the circumstances. · ·· '-J'~
1
~~~nd
Redente was interviewed on July 5, 2018; also present were his Union Steward, Union
President, Malinda Fig a. Redente advised that he knew •. pri()\.to ~til' ··, ... · ident. He
explained that in his c · as a Youth Development Coordinator<-.he ·w ,of'k~·\' it})'""': · . ost at risk
stu;~ts ~~tf.C~S, i~clu~I ..R edente said he ha~ wor~ed hard dur~~~~;9~~'~f't~e ~chool year
to IJund a relaat wnshtp with - and has b workmg with •. t&. aa,gl'b~&._"leme of his tssues. He
advised. that often s~ips cla~s ~n~ exhiol ehavioral issues~~tp~~'!Jghting with other students.
Accordmg to Redente, pnor tot. hts mctde~taa. had bee!J<.~U~£~9.e~~m~cho~·or 23 days; Redente
believes he is one of the few st,.at the sch'o'!t~o can get;",u~h"fQ.;r.i~
followi~ritten tfi~,Jequ;ifCQf
Redcnte submitted the statement at As;istant Principal, Marc Potocsky at
2:25p.m., on May 4, 2018: ,, ... 'i"~·''<oo~\o.' <·l. ,% ·.'1·:\· -
"·~~~}~:~
At approximately l :26 p.m. on 5/~f..l8, I. 9M~;fl,~~~;~&,;;gup of students walking by my
officer discussing going to slapb9i3• . I ·:t~~ggnized one voice as .. so I decided to
fol~ow them. At 1.:3.5 p.m .. _.~,,cal~;,.~a~~}i~~ th~ radio of a fi.&h! in the. E wing
I
statrwell. Upon amvmg on t~e seconQ flQor, noticed. and •. walkmg away
from the area where the call '~1.1s frorri.~>,..Capproached . and asked him to come
with me to Mr. Potocsky1·~. offl'Ce;t,Jj,~ replied, "I didn't do shit and I ain't going
nowhere with you." . I r~:meiif.ed thafhe needed to accompany me to the office and
lightly placed my h~~d"o~~~h~~mall of his back. He then got extremely angry and
started to cuss atrr,ttk~a Qail'11}js arms. When he get (sic) to the stairwell to go
dmynstairs he. saW t'C»,~e~l'foucli~me again and I'll fuck you up!" I followed be~ind
him as· we we~ , · 'g:.down the stairs, he stopped in the middle of the stairwell and
t- zf:in. &rntly~p~~.. -my hand.. on his bac~ to coax him into walking. At t~is time
. ·, .~4Rg lit~ arm back al}';struck me m the face. In order to keep htm from
str,~ing. nte,, ~g~in~ I extended my arms and pushed him away fr~~;•me. I then
~ ... appr_~:mcheSl~ii:n because he was out of control and exhibiting aggressive behavior.
~::; H~. thef! ~~tup as if to fight Q¥J.fmd slapped my portable radio out of my hands and
· '•k,i9ke4.)t'across the hallway. He attempted to grab me by the shirt and at this time I
f'.that both my safety and the safety the student were at risk so I ,_ed him in a
prote<atWe restraint until Security arrived and referred the matter to administration.
Rcdente described the incident in more detail during his interview. He stated that prior to the incident he
was in his office, which is located on the first floor across from the body shop, when he overheard.,
and• . talking about slapboxing in the hall. Redente stated that, as he started to get up to follow them,
3 "Slapboxing" is akin to boxing, where open hands are used rather than fists.
3
{01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
a call came over the radio for a "20'.4, although no location was given. Redente said he ran up the stairs
to the second floor and responded to an area where he heard a commotion, thinking the "20" might be for
the slapboxing he overheard •. and - talking about a few minutes earlier. When he got up to the
second floor, Redente said he saw • and- outside a classroom (E200). According to Redente,
Patty Poros, a Bilin~~ Clerk, pointed to • and ~'\'~ifid said they had been fighting. Redente said
that. had alreadymlted to walk away down the haffatm was near the other stairwell, so he (Redente)
e.
W.
followed According to Redente, said that he was in class in E200, which Redente knew was not
a
true. Redente said he then put his hand on the small of._ back and walked to otlt~r side of the
h~llway. Re~en~e said he approache~ him a?ain to guide ~im toward the s~irs an~ tol.d -..~ t o.:.h?;sm.:e-. with
e.
him to the prmctpal's office. said he didn't do anythmg and wasn't gomg With htm;.' . ~<~}
~oing Re~ente .!/l.~~Pu~a:'
Redente said .that •. was ahead of him down the stai:s and had tttle to
catch up to him; •. stopped on ~til~, landmg, and Redente said he put hts han~ oi\Pi~lbii~k-~ii-gam about
two. step~ from th~ bottom o.f the slit.'r s. According t~ Redente, this ··.t. i~ii.-etl.!$~~j,~.·.;r arm back
b~hmd htm ~nde h it Re~e~te m .the mo~th. Redente sa.Id he then pu~,fl. < w·tt.!t_oo~ ~~n. aeway. from
~Im to .a~md stnkmg him ~~· Redente believes that a~. tij~~~.~~'Rtlshed ., was
askew' , I.e. at an a~gle: Re?ente'Tatd he though~ • was "~em~g,x.a~~t~~J;,.a nd ..bled forw~rd a
1
step or two before "hitc~mg .his p~nts up" and t11:mtb~.rds. hi~~~Jn,~~·tigf}~ng· stanc~; Redente sa.td he
a
then approached •. With his radio to call secunty, · ·· . '':.t'sla,pp~d tfle,;radi1 out of his hand and ktcked
it away. Redente said he then grabbed ara~d leaned on'fi1!1]:,~Jlt··. 'pushed hi~ foo~ off the wall and
the two ended up on the floor. Redente said he then restratiJ¢a by wrappmg his arms and legs
. . . . . •
aroun d h1m unttl secunty arnved. ,~,'.;, )t .,'~' )~·~
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Redente recalled seeing Frank Brady, an employee~;frBtt.!. the.:;Future Project, as well as John Valus, a
Culinary Arts teacher, but~~, not know ho.w. muotto,[ttw inGident either of them witnessed. Redente also
recalled School Resource\Officer (SRO}''M.Ig~~l'~pdnt~ ~nd school security officers responding. Redente
said he was not awar~ Q;~flY · td;. .. !_~~t~Veq~''in the stairwell preceding the restraint; nor is he
aware of any student vtdeos of 1'·",,, "!?!.~
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Redente said after the two were set;?!;lrate·dY>J1.~~went to Assistant Principal Potocsky's office and reported
the incident to him. Redcnte ad"i~.ea·,Jle also gave a statement to SRO Aponte, but could not recall if it
was before or after his writterntat:ment to Potocsky.
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Redente stated that he d.r~>:'riot.·';e~.!?..i~e arly restraint training from the NHPS, but has studied training on
his own; he repeated·~ev6r~l times that he was careful not to touch ... face, head, or neck. Redente
.•.
stated that h~ w~~:cs~~-deC~d~}?y this i?cident and he vi~ws this a~ a setback for .both. he ~J¥1. in. their
e.
efforts to butl4. a:::r,appon:"Redente said he does not believe mtended to stnke htm. It~ould hke to
" d fi . ,,,.. ,·,• •
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Rede~te. • was:;.,~~~re';i of a subsequent incident involving - and an altercation with staff at WCHS
becaus~ sqm~. . ofihis students sent him video of the fight. Redente also said there was a prior unreported
incidenfiilvoiV'ing • and Student Intervention Specialist, Gerald McClease, where •. walked up to
him in th6:1cafetcria and grabbed his beard. Redente said it is not uncommon for •. to "verbally spar"
with staff and has a history of severe verbal outbursts, often involving profanity.
4 "20" is code for a fight.
4
{Ol147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
Redente said although he deals with at risk students, this wasa th e first time he has be9volved in a
physical confrontation with one. Redente said that he pushed because he was concerned when~,,
squared off with him. Redente spoke'"9fa7heightened concern after the school shooting in Parkland and
wondered if- had a weapon in his pocket.5 Redente said he was unaware of any policy regarding
restraining a student, just an unwritten rule that restraint allowed "if he or someone else in danger."
Vide. .o tage of the incident with .. was viewed with Redentlftt the end of his interview; he
acknowledged he could see how someone could get a negative impression of the incident from the video
footage. · ..
~ '.
"'"'"'
fo!lowmg the mctdent. In hts wntten statement,-satd: .. \... . ' . ..~
ts~(J'
I was going to class. Frank stopped me and said "I heard whatvr\'-sit.,' "·
don't have nothi~g to do.with that." He said come with me, I w~~14d'3 ·:. i~'lhil
get away from htm. I satd "get the fuck away from me." Jie ~atd~~.. a : -~~td you say
to me". He ran down the stairs and pushed me near the luncfro-~t>~ rturned around
..
and pushed him. Then he started restraining me. I ~~~ re§i$tifi·~ --~~). .
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Several attempts were made, through Vall erie Hudson Br~\1), .J.~n-IllS,~LJ,or Relations,t~~ntact­
but he did not appear for his interview or respond to foU9~ up atf~mpts to reschedule the interview.
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In addition to the two involved parties, s~v~ral op:l~r:;~t:Qe~'§es were interviewed relative to their personal
observations or roles relative to the incideQ!. ·t-~. ~,# ''~
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Frank Brady is a Dream Director ~Jth th~:;;~~~)Iaven branch of The Future Project, a non-profit
organization that partners with schoolS\·tQ wor;k"with students to develop their skills and improve school
culture.6 Brady is in his seventh year aC\-v~s. He knows Redente from WCHS and the New Haven
community. ;'-lthou-~e do~s..,~ot,2'0J.k witf~ffim directly, Brady is also familiar withtllll, who he said
has a reputatton as a Wise asf. ') ···'<~~~~\
Mar·{'o·,;~~~:he.i.~as1~bming ~rom cafete~ia s~udent, wh~n
Brady said that ?n the. with another •., they
heard a commotion; 1,3~adY:·4~.s~iubed the com~ot10n as ratsed votces and feet commg .down the statrs. ~s
he turned towarq;ttbc:rc()mrriotwn, Brady satd he observed Redente and ..c ommg down the statrs
behind him;tq..,his~ left1>~. Brady said it appeared Redente was trying to catch up to- Brady said. ..
appeared,to:;'~hirlthi& s~oulder'' and say something to Redente. Redente responded "What did you say?"
and .appeat~d. td'~·r:ead}'· toward- Brady said that the situation appeared to be already heated at that
point::<,:_,' ·<:;;.~~:'!"' ·::~. '·
Brady sai~·. was facing away from Redente at the time, and at first it looked like Redente was trying
to turn •. around, but he saw Redente push- from behind with one arm;-. fell forward and then
turned around to face Redente, trying to take off his sweatshirt. After that the two started to "tussle";
5 Redente relayed a concern he had raised the day after the Parkland, Florida shooting when he discovered the metal
detectors at the school entrance had been unplugged; he plugged them back in and made everyone go through
security again.
6 Source: The Future Project's website at thefutureproject.org.
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{01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
Redente got. over to the wall and}ll,~y both went to the ground. Brady said Redente then restrained
..u ntil security came. Brady said-en the two were struggling Redente's radio fell and he (Brady)
picked it up and called for security. Brady said he did not see~lap the radio out ofRedente's hand or
kick it; it just appeared to have fallen in the struggle. ,,.
Importantly, Brady did not see- strike Redente prior to R~te pushing him, but did see -try to
shrug Redente off, as if to say "get off me". He overheard Redente talking to someone else after the
incident .about~ s~iking him, but B~ady said he could not recall :Wh~t was. said or to w~m Redente
was talkmg. Brady satd he was approximately 4 or 5 feet from the mctdent; tt appeared 'YJ.t~ver ~
said to Redente ~aus~d ~im ~o "snap" mox:nentarily. From his perspective, Redente wast~~ a&gi~f.. o.. r and
..t he reactor m thts sttuatton. Brady satd both he and •. were "shocked" by what -:~ffrl$,i'~.
Brady acknowledged that some time has passed sindlfhe incident, and referred to(t tl ·-~~tatement,
~hich. he provid~d to P~toc~ky ix:nmediately after tt:e incident, a~ a mqre a~ernr~t~· ~.99lint. Brady's
mtervtew ts.conststent wt~h.~ts wn~en statement, w~tch was subm.ttted~to.·a~~oc a~~~J"·m. on May
r.nVJ: •
4, 2018, whtch lends credtbthty to hts account, espectally as an unbtased !f~¢.(J "
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~. who was walking with Brady also submitted a wr\ften'-i§.trit~~en~.~;jtt Potocsky's request. In his
~ment,~states he "witnessed Mr. Frank push a stuae~~.;~Jhe ·s~~dent reacted pulling up his pants
ready to fight. Frank slammed the kid and put him in~;Jl1 chokg~gld .. .'"Attempts to interview S.G. were
also unsuccessful; several attempts were made, through~~llerie Rudson Brown, NHPS Labor Relations,
to contact .. but, like -· he did not appear ~?thi~, filt~;Jiew or respond to follow up attempts to
reschedule. .,:r..r.. ~ · •;:::.. '·>:·~;,. .
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John Valus is a Culinary Arts teacft~r at WCI-f~ he did not witness anything prior to the physical
altercation itself; rather he respondt;d t6':~~ ha~~ay after hearing the commotion in the hallway. When he
came.out q~W classroom, he ~.?,se~ed Redehte and- struggling on the floor. Accordi~g to Valus,
secunty arrivea shortly there~:t~'a,n~~.§eparated the two. Valus stated he saw-. take a swmg at one of
the officers, who he described a~,a ':Hi$panic male. Val us also gave a written statement to Potocsky; his
::.tfh
interview;t.pmsistent h,ft:~~!~rn sttttement, which was submitted to Potocsky on May 7, 2018.
··' :;.:_. .. ·~· ~~.~:"i\f>..~/'"tl. ** *
.t~Y~f!vdgar Miller,.~ludciit}n:tervention Specialist, also witnessed the altercation. This is Miller's first year at
WCHS, qurif~,ha~·P.~~il with NHPS for 18 years, both as a st~fL..~ember and coach. Miller recalled
towards the ~nd' ofJpe day, hearing a call on the radio about sorri~ds in the hall "messing around" on
the s~~onq,,tToqr,:,'He advised he did not respond to that incident because Redente radioed that he was
respondi~g~\Mr~ller believes they were slapboxing, alth~ugh couldn~t recall specifical~~iller said about
10 to 15 'rpmutes ~~~ he heard another call for Wtty needed m front of the cate'frriiJ~ He recalled
thinking it"was an"oc!H call, because no code was' gtven and the person on the radio see~ea frantic, not
someone who used the radio regularly. When he ran down to the first floor, Miller said he saw two
individuals on the ground and was surprised to see people standing around because he assumed the two
individuals were students and he wondered why no one was stepping in to resolve the situation. As he
started move toward the two individuals to assist, he saw Redente on the floor on his back with his arms
and legs around a student, who was also on his back. At this time, the security officers were responding
from the other direction and they took control of the situation.
6
{01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
After the M)jllent, Miller said Redente approached him to tell him what happened. According to Miller
Redente told him that said that he (Redente) had responded to break up a slapboxing incident and he put
his hand on ~~ck to move him along, butW. said "Get the fuck off me" and took a swing at him.
Miller said he also deals with at risk students in his job and has had to address behavioral problems; he
said based on what he saw, he could not draw any conclusions regarding whether Redente or._ was the
aggressor in this itJ!i.dent, but opined that the only way a staff member should ever be in a situation like
that with ·,:dent was if the student swul"fiiWII orc~c: them. . ~
inci~f~)~iih
School Security Officers Lonnie Shealy and Michael Whitty responded to the New
,'f~aven Police Officer Miguel Aponte, who is one of the SRQf:\;at WCHS. ' ~~~,>.~, '·.;::,;}
· ..
Shealy has been a School Sec?rit;Y Officer for 20 years, althoug~ he is JJ.'ri\~ to WCHS.
He recalled the May 4, 2018 mctdent at W<;;Ji~ and stated that 1t had oe~p · . . '?Y _.,: cause there
e
was a radio call for a "20" on the first floor ati<ftit 10 minutes befo~e t.~iJ~,~~·· . fl .. t, but that it turned
out to be nothing. When he responded to the incident involving R~q~n:~~d~ at first he thought it
ahdijl
was two students fighting, but when he got closer he saw it was R~dtfnte student. Shealy said._.
was yelling and out of control. Shealy acknowledged he .., 4fa~t~<?f,:\now\~hat had occurred prior to his
arrival on scene. Shealy said he helped to separate the M~,'l>-~~tf w~~trying to calm- down, when
Offi.cer Whi.!!r arrived an~ said he would handl~ it b.~~~use ft~~;;-vas fam~liar with the stude~t. Shealy
a
demed that took a swmg at any of the secunty offi'c~r,. but that he "flmched". Shealy sa1d that. ...
did no~ a~swer him w?en he asked wh~t h~ppened.,(.:f~i\§re~.?;)-wa~ escorted down the hall and left
the bu!ldmg before bemg brought back ms1de by,$~rtn~~ Ca'i'lina, Supervtsor of Youth Development .
.··: .
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Whitty has been a security officer wit~~S~:(oi\~8· ye,~r:S. WCHS has been his permanent assignment for
2 years. He is assigned to the first fl~t>~: ndtq:t~l¥'"rii:f~e security camera room, although he advised that
with budget cuts there have been less~~curity'·f>fji~rs assigned so he also patrols the halls. He is familiar
with •. as a student at the school~. He'~d~.~crUJ,ed him as "rambunctious, to say the least". Whitty said he
has had to speak with him freq~enhr., as lr(f<t\ever goes to class and is frequently in trouble. Whitty is
aware that-has been disc~plwMcfhthe past.
;;, .:) '~'.:f.
On the day in question,.;:Whl,tt£"sai~ he~(Whitty) was eating his lunch in the camera room when a call
came on the radio that..th~re'~l,\,s·'ar>,~huation, so he went to assist. Whitty said the camera room is on the
first floor close to thbVrorit,e,!o3ts. When he got there, the SRO, another security officer and other staff
were already there tryinrHo calm •. down. Whitty said he tried to calm -~!!own. Whitty said he has
"been througb;,•it'~i,th hi,m.'before" and that~ has a history of altercations with other students; Whitty
said that.ffa§ ~-a· time calming himself down, and that he is in trouq)lthonthly. Whitty said he has
had't¢.;r~.rriin<lhirlLt6k'IWep his hands to himself on prior occl~Pns. Whitty does not~~lfeve- has any
respedt/6r;,agltl'ts~Whitty does not know if-. had prior issues witlml;!dente.
'',' ·: ~}' ,'~~,;::· ~.;~i•l.j-
Whitty s~iq he asked ... what happened ~UIIk.•·s'He pu~,m me, I didn't do nothing." Whitty said
W. was referring to Redente. Whitty said he noticed that one of ~ shoes was off and he went to
retrieve it. When he gave the shoe to-.,, he became irate again and said "he pushed me"; he started
cursing again. Whitty said as they were escorting -~-Wn the hall, he was stilllfrsing and then
walked out the school. Whitty said that Kermit Carolina was there and went after._, to bring him back
inside the building.
7
(01147903.DOCX Ver. 1} 07/20/18
Whitty said he asked Redente what happened and Redente told him that he was escorting. . downstairs
because he was skipping class and he turned and took a swing at him. Whitty said he also spoke with
Frank Brady, and asked what he saw. Brady tolcf~llin he saw Redente push ~alll then the two
fighting.
Whitty .;.he then went back to the camera room to review the video. He described what he observed, as
follows: From the camera at the top of the stairwell, he observed Redente and •. coming down the
-.r. •.
stairs; Redente was approximately 5 feet behind briefly stopped on the laiiqing and was
gesturing (T.H. appears to be talking to/greeting someone, but Whitty didn't see anyon,,~e on the
video). Whitty said he observed Redente walk quickly/trot down the stairs to catch up to · There is a
r . .
gap in the footage when they are in the bottom portion of the stairwell. ~.,J·~
,.~ ~. ~. •.
Per Whitty, the camera do~s not capture •taking a swing at Redente, but does sh~~ .. ~(te~~~sh,.,_
as they came out of the statrwell on the first floor. From the second earner~ on J.ll~t;ir· · .[. Whttty says
he observed~ fly forward; he believed he had his hands in his poelce~'f;at'i:ht:f.fim . · itty said he
could se~ Redente's hand on his bac~ pushing him . ._then s~un ar~~~n~~_iffe~1~ed~"' e and started
toward h1m; Redent~hed,.._ agam and they started "to go at 1~" !'*', '{-4> -~~'?
j~itty w~en o~ p~rso~.,~9~~q~i~t~~~ (:~~ecurity,
said he heard the call the radio, the security!"), not
someone w~ normally on the radio. From watchmg th~ vttl,ro·v,;Jle oeljeves It was Frank Brady who
was callingr'5Fassistance. Whitty said he saw the radio fall t&:t.~"'tlo6?-19n the video, but couldn't tell how
~~,got knocked off. Whitty said there is a clip that hold~;~~: radi<l;~~~t not everyone us~
Whitty said he called his supervis1Jrchief Reddish~.,;Wh~tt)l··:~~~g he did not prepare a formal report on the
situation, as both Shealy and Aponte were on th.~F~~A~,before·him. Whitty advised that normally video is
recorded over after 2 weeks, but secur~~·~tnake.~ c;gpie~:J.f there is a situation/incident. Whitty believed
Video Officer Evelyn Merzon in the ~~g,ln~}~f~(_1~~de copies of both videos, but wasn't certain.7
* ,._
'l ·~r-., ·1r:* +
'··~~-··· -~~-,;,.
'
According to the Police Incident\~eport~J-~tepared by SRO Aponte, "on Friday, May 4, 2018 at
approximately 1332 hours, s~<;~ft'ty.,~~ called via in house radio for assistance on th."moor vocational
,?!(';:.5::;.:;:~~ ·.:~'''ft~\;·~~
area."
The police report also Pt9vid~s:'thilt' following narrative: Officer Aponte responded along with Security
Officers, Shealy ·and~:Whitty aftd found Youth Development Coordinator Frank Redente on the floor
restraining student- who was still resisting. The off18s proceeded to separate the two. The
witness state_p,~rif~,.~e({9rth in the police report are ~st verbatim of the written statements prepared by
Redente;:~JadY,~,andr~[-.]. In addition, Aponte responded to the home of •.] on,;rdY 8, 2018, and
spo~th'~'a.l)d his mother. ~·s mother advised the officer that~] told her Redente pushed
him ffiJ.~'he;c.hec~e upset. ~] refused to speak ~the officer but identified his signed statement to
Potocsky.·at~ccurate. -...rs mother advised lJ!~nte she did not wish 1~ pursue any charges against
Redente and a•ck.n owledged that ~ was and "out of contfiiiJt"
'~· ·~
Aponte viewed the video footage with Potocsky, and pe41MS report, stated that the video showed Redente
!W..1
pushing with one hand and [aJitlrning around as he attempted to pull his hands out of his
"
7 Upon inquiry of the Head of Security, Thaddeus Reddish, it was determined that a copy of video footage from this
angle was not preserved.
8 See, New Haven Police Incident Report, Case # 18-0206-46.
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