A security officer forced an 11-year-old girl to duct-tape her mouth shut at a Pasadena middle school because she was talking too loud and giggling during a lunch break, according to the girl’s father.
The Pasadena Unified School District fired the security officer after school officials became aware of the incident, and the girl’s family has filed a police report.
“The safety and well-being of our students are our top priority,” the district said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we take concerns like this very seriously and are cooperating fully with the Pasadena Police Department. We are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for our students.”
Noemi Hurtado said she was eating with her friends at Blair Middle School on Wednesday when the female security officer told her to stop being so loud. The security officer punished the girl for being loud and spinning around with her friends during a break between classes, the girl’s father, Ricardo Hurtado, told The Times.
Ricardo Hurtado, front, along with community activist Najee Ali, held a news conference about the incident involving his daughter outside Blair Middle School in Pasadena.
(KTLA)
His daughter is in sixth grade and “was doing things that normal kids do at that age,” he said.
The security officer, whom the district did not identify, forced the girl to duct-tape her mouth shut, Hurtado said. News outlet KTLA reported that the principal confirmed the incident occurred. The security officer then marched her back to her classroom, according to Hurtado. In class, the security officer told the teacher to not remove the tape from her mouth, because she continued to be too disruptive, Hurtado said. That’s when the head of security at the school intervened and took the student to the principal’s office.
Hurtado said the head security officer told his daughter she was not in trouble.
Hurtado’s daughter has since returned to the school, he said. The family filed a police report against the security officer on Thursday, according to Hurtado.
The Pasadena Police Department confirmed a police report was filed, but referred all questions on the case to the Pasadena Unified School District.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
