COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lexington-Richland School District 5 is facing a lawsuit after a student's parent claimed her child lost consciousness when a teacher put him in a chokehold.
The suit, filed in Lexington County, alleges an instructor placed the student in the hold as part of a classroom demonstration, then ignored the student's signs of distress until he lost consciousness.
The lawsuit, filed April 7 by attorney Ralph Smiley, accuses the district of "intentionally or recklessly inflicting severe emotional distress on the Plaintiffs... (and) committing conduct so extreme and outrageous as to exceed all possible boundaries of decency."
The incident happened in January at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies in Chapin, according to the suit filed by the student's mother. The student was taking a law enforcement class where the instructor was demonstrating holds on a dummy when the instructor decided to demonstrate one on a student, the lawsuit says.
"A chokehold, also sometimes referred to as a choke or stranglehold is a maneuver which restricts the airway and blood flow to the brain by applying pressure to the trachea and the carotid arteries, thereby allowing officers to quickly subdue criminal suspects," the suit says.
It notes that in the wake of nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020, the chokehold was banned by many law enforcement agencies.
The teacher then applied the hold "with so much strength that the minor Plaintiff lost consciousness," requiring medical assistance to be sought for the student, the suit says.
"Prior to losing consciousness, the student signaled several times for the instructor to stop, however, these signals and warnings were disregarded," the suit claims.
The lawsuit notes that the student was a "law-abiding citizen" at the time and no use of force against him was legally justified.
The suit also says the student qualifies as disabled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and was incapable of giving consent to be placed in the chokehold. It also says the school district did not inform the child's mother of the incident after the fact.
The school district and teacher acted in a "grossly negligent, willful, reckless and wanton manner" that resulted in medical injuries as well as mental anguish and suffering, the care of which will require "large sums of money."
The lawsuit asks that a court award monetary damages to the student and his legal guardian.
The school district declined to comment on the suit Thursday, citing ongoing legal action.
