Wisconsin police are investigating claims that a school administrator ripped three braids out of a Black girl’s head after confronting the student about the overwhelming smell of perfume that was apparently bothering a teacher’s allergies.
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Acting principal Rob Mueller-Owens of Whitehorse Middle School has reportedly been placed on leave by the Madison Metropolitan School District after school surveillance video showed him grabbing the student, WISC-TV reports.
The video shows Mueller-Owens slamming the girl into hall lockers before tackling the 11-year-old to the ground, thus tearing three braids from her head.
Pastor Marcus Allen, speaking on behalf of the family told Yahoo Lifestyle that the administrator fell on the girl, according to the family’s account.
“I am told that the girl and her friend had sprayed perfume on themselves in the bathroom and the scent was bothering the teacher’s allergies,” Allen told Yahoo Lifestyle. “The teacher asked who sprayed it and the class didn’t answer, so she asked [Mueller-Owens] to come in, and he targeted this one girl.”
Allen said he saw the video and the administrator forcefully pushed the girl out of the classroom and into a row of lockers. He apparently then lost his balance and fell on top of her, he said. “He stayed on top of her for 10 or 15 seconds,” Allen tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
“I don’t know how the girl’s braids were pulled out but she has two bald spots on her head,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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The girl’s mother Mikiea Price has filed a police report against Mueller-Owens. Price said her daughter was “crying and her lip was cracked, bleeding and she handed me three of her braids that were pulled out from her scalp,” she told Madison 365 about the Feb. 13th incident.
She said her daughter is scared to return to school.
The Madison Metropolitan School District released a statement to Yahoo Lifestyle, saying “As a District, we take any situation of this nature very seriously. All of our students need to be safe and supported in school, and we have a thorough investigation process and protocol that we follow. While we cannot talk about the details of a specific student or personnel situation, it is our responsibility to consider all of the facts of the situation and determine the right next steps. The staff person was put on leave while the situation was investigated. Based on that investigation, the staff person will not return to Whitehorse Middle School, and we are determining next steps. In addition, our team is coming together to create a full support plan to ensure that students is safe and fully supported at school.”
An investigation has been launched by the Madison Police Department.