Detroit mom seeks justice after Priest Elementary staff member allegedly assaults her son

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit mother is seeking justice for her young autistic son who she says was assaulted at school and wants the teacher's aide removed. 

Big picture view:

China Hocking says on Oct. 5, her son, who has autism, was dropped off at Priest Elementary at around 9:45 a.m. Minutes later, she was called and told to pick him up because he was kicking. 

Then, later that night, she received a phone call from the school principal saying that her son ‘might’ve been kicked.'

Two days later, she went up to the school and says she was told that he was, in fact, kicked. She asked to see the security ideo of the incident, but was told cameras did not capture it, so she filed a police report. 

The next day, Hocking said she saw the video, and it was much more than a kick, as she says there was grabbing and hitting by the teacher's aide. 

"I cried. I cried. I cried. I walked out the school," she said. "I went to Western to view it cuz they had to be at a school to hook it up and view it. I was dropping my son. I remember him telling me when I was coming out the office I was just, I couldn’t even talk. I said, ‘Go to class, go to class.’ I’m just, everybody just looking at me. He’s like, ‘Are you okay ma?’ I’m like go to class. Go to class. I was in the parking lot crying. I have teenagers coming to my door. ‘what’s wrong?’ Opening my door. Hugging me. Asking me what’s wrong. Because I just seen my child get abused by somebody that was supposed to protect him."

The other side:

FOX 2 reached out to the Detroit Public School District, who said an investigation has been launched, and the employee was removed. They later said the employee would not be returning to Priest Elementary.

The Full Statement

"The district was notified of this incident; an investigation was launched and the employee in question has been removed from the building and will not be returning to Priest. We are working directly with the family to address their concerns and support their child.

"Although there is misinformation circulating, we want to be clear that we understand the seriousness of the concerns raised and recognize how important it is for families to feel confident that their children are safe, supported and treated with dignity at school. 

"Federal privacy laws and personnel confidentially requirements limit what we can share publicly, however we are committed to addressing concerns through appropriate District procedures, working collaboratively with families, and protecting the rights of every student."

What's next:

Hocking said she filed a FOIA request to obtain a copy of the security video. 

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