Elkins bus driver convicted of false imprisonment
Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/54115/
An Elkins school bus driver was convicted of false imprisonment last week after disciplining a child on her bus. The incident occurred where she pulled a middle school student aside and gave him a harsh lecture about his misbehavior before letting him off the bus.
Bus driver Brenda Jones was convicted of the misdemeanor charge by Elkins District Court Judge Ray Renolds following a bench trial in the District Court on June 5.
“ At some point, the line was crossed between what is reasonable and unreasonable, ” Elkins Prosecutor Danny Wright said.
Jones was fined $ 100 but Reynolds gave her a “ suspended imposition, ” according to Tonya Patrick, Jones’ attorney. The suspended imposition means the conviction would not go on Jones’ record if she stays out of trouble for 12 months, Patrick explained.
Jones has not yet decided if she will appeal the conviction, Patrick added. She has 30 days from the date of the ruling to appeal.
If Jones appealed the matter to Washington County Circuit Court, she would have the opportunity to receive a jury trial on the charge.
Jones had been charged with disorderly conduct and false imprisonment by Wright, but she was found not guilty of disorderly conduct.
Attempts to reach Jones were unsuccessful Friday.
The incident was captured by a surveillance camera on the bus. Her discussion with the student lasted a little longer than a minute.
Wright said Jones yelled excessively and a major basis of the charge was that she would not let the child leave. She probably should have written him up and let a discipline referral work through the administrative process, he said.
During the trial, District Superintendent Robert Allen testified that bus drivers have some discretion on how to discipline students. Allen said Thursday that he did not want to comment further on the matter right now.
Jones was placed on administrative leave by the district following the incident, but her contract was renewed by the Elkins School Board at a May meeting prior to the trial.
Allen said he didn’t believe the conviction would make Jones ineligible to work as a bus driver because it is a misdemeanor. Most felony convictions, particularly crimes violent in nature, disqualify people from working as school employees under state law.
Asked if there was anything other bus drivers could learn from the case, Patrick responded, “ I don’t know. It’s a hard job. ”
Jones has worked as a bus driver for more than 15 years.
The incident occurred Feb. 21 as Jones was letting the boy and some other students off at a bus stop.
School Resource Officer Bill Rhodes, who investigated the incident following a complaint by the boy’s mother, said it occurred at the first stop along Jones ’ route. The bus had a full load of students.
The camera footage showed that prior to getting off the bus, the boy had been pointing his finger and yelling remarks to two other students who were sitting across the aisle.
As he was preparing to exit the bus, Jones pulled him aside near the driver’s seat to talk to him. This also created a back-up line with other students who were to be let off at the bus stop, as they were unable to walk around him.
Jones also shut the door so the student couldn’t leave, Rhodes said, but the act of the door shutting wasn’t visible due to the camera angle.
Initially, Rhodes held the boy by his left arm, told him he was not to be yelling at other people on the bus and threatened him with not being able to ride the bus anymore. When she asked him if he understood, he yelled, “ Yes ! ”
At that point, Rhodes raised her voice much louder, telling him, “ You do not yell at me, you understand ?”
As Jones continued speaking, she added, “ You may yell at your mother, but you’re not going to yell at me !”
After she finished speaking and asked him if he understood, the boy responded with a softer tone and she let him exit the bus.
At a couple of points during the conversation, the boy began to make a motion to leave but Jones redirected his attention to her. This seemed to form the basis of the “ false imprisonment” charge, Rhodes said.
Patrick said the school did not have a well-defined policy for how bus drivers might discipline a student on the bus, and the main issue that seemed to lead to the guilty verdict was that Rhodes held the student’s arm during the exchange.