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March 11, 2002
14-Year-Old Died After Incident in Killeen
Special Education Class
By Jason Spencer American-Statesman Staff
Saturday, March 9, 2002
A Killeen middle school teacher and teacher's
aide appear to have followed proper procedure when they held down a
14-year-old special education student, who died while being
restrained, police said Friday.
"According to what is being described to us, I
would view the restraint that was used in line with the protocol,"
said Killeen Police Sgt. Daniel Tichenor. "The information we've
gathered so far points to this being possibly an accident. Of
course, that could change down the line."
Cedrick Napoleon, a seventh-grader who had
lived in a Killeen foster home since November 2000, was pronounced
dead within an hour of the incident Thursday inside a behavior
management classroom at Manor Middle School, authorities said.
Results of an autopsy were pending the outcome of a toxicology test.
Killeen school district officials declined to
discuss the incident and did not respond to a request for a written
copy of the district's procedures for restraining students and a description of
the training teachers receive regarding restraint. The district also
declined to identify the employees involved in the incident and
would not discuss their work histories.
"We're cooperating fully with the Police
Department," said Deputy Superintendent Ann Farris.
School officials informed Cedrick's classmates
of his death Friday, she said.
"First thing this morning, 40 students went
into the library to visit with counselors," Farris said.
Originally from the San Antonio area, Cedrick
was living with a family licensed to care for children with
emotional problems, said Aaron Reed, a spokesman for Texas Child
Protective Services. Cedrick had been in foster care since 1997.
"His case workers describe him as a sweet kid
with a great smile," Reed said. "He loved basketball. He enjoyed
going to church with his foster family.
"No matter what happened at the school, this is
a tragedy for Cedric and the foster family he'd been staying with
the last two years, and for us," Reed said.
The female teacher and a male aide attempted to
restrain Cedrick, who was 5-feet, 1-inch tall and weighed 130
pounds, when he caused a disruption at 3:01 p.m., police said.
Another aide also was in the room with about a dozen students.
Police and the district declined to describe the disruption.
At one point, the adults were restraining
Cedrick as he sat in a chair, Tichenor said. Part of the struggle
also occurred on the ground, he said.
Tichenor would not say how long the boy was
restrained.
"As soon as they noticed anything was wrong,
they called in the nurse," Tichenor said.
Cedrick had stopped breathing when the nurse
arrived, so CPR was performed, authorities said. Doctors at
Metroplex Hospital declared him dead at 3:57 p.m.
The teacher and two aides have been placed on
paid leave pending the investigation's outcome, according to the
school district.
Lawmakers last year ordered the Texas education
commissioner to create statewide standards for restraining students.
The guidelines are being drafted and will take effect Aug. 1. Until
then, each district is responsible for its own guidelines.
According to the district's Web site, teachers
may physically restrain students who are a threat to themselves or
others, or to disarm a student, protect property, restore order or
impose discipline, or to control an irrational student.
In the Austin school district, only teachers
and employees who complete a two-day training program are permitted
to restrain students, said Joan Solorio, the district's special
education director.
Teachers are allowed to use restraint under the
same circumstances as described for Killeen, according to the Austin
district's written policy.
Teachers are required to immediately notify the
campus nurse, who must be present to monitor the student's health.
jspencer@statesman.com or (512) 445-3694
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