Michigan parents outraged after video shows son attacked by coach at middle school: “I was horrified”
By Terrance Friday
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YPSILANTI, Michigan (WWJ) — A former track coach is in the hot seat after surveillance video appeared to show him assaulting a student at Ypsilanti Middle School last week.
The student’s mother, Yolanda Ellis, said what happened to her son has left her in complete shock.
“My initial reaction when I saw the video: I was horrified,” Ellis said. “I could not believe this coach would do something like that to him. How I’m feeling now, is I am feeling let down.”
The student said his coach told him to do push-ups last Tuesday, and he couldn’t follow the command because of an injury. He said that’s when the coach launched an all-out attack, choking him from behind with his shirt.
When the school refused to give the student’s parents the footage, they went to the police department and got the video directly from detectives. They shared the video with CBS News Detroit.
Steve Moon, the student’s father, said what’s even more concerning is that several other parents have come forward in the days since the video surfaced, claiming to have experienced similar attacks.
“I’m just highly disturbed and angry,” Moon said. “It’s a letdown that this man that Michael [my son] looked up to failed him like that. He was the last person that I would expect to do that and on the other side of that, Michael is the last kid who deserves something like that.”
In a statement, the school said it’s working with law enforcement on the case. Officials also reminded parents that student safety is always a top priority.
“This is abusive. We send our kids to school to learn, and we expect them to behave, and other side of that, we expect the teachers and staff to behave,” Moon said.
Although the coach has been relieved from his job, the student’s parents said the Ypsilanti Police Department has not moved forward with pressing charges against the former coach.
“It’s a disappointment for me to see my son be let down like that. I am feeling that the prosecutors have let me down, I’m feeling the school system has let me down,” Ellis said. There’s a lot of anxiety about the whole situation.”
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