Mediation for security guard, parent in Corinaldi Primary School fight

WESTERN BUREAU:

SECURITY OFFICER Euton Fearon, whose physical bust-up with a student’s stepfather at the St James-based Corinaldi Primary School on April 11 got caught on video, is to attend mediation sessions with the other man ahead of their return to the St James Parish Court on May 4.

During the case’s brief mention before presiding parish judge Sasha Ashley on Tuesday, Fearon stood calmly in the defendant’s box and pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge of assault occasioning bodily harm.

The court was told that on April 11, the complainant went to Corinaldi Primary School to pick up his child, but Fearon refused to allow him in through the front gate. The complainant pushed past Fearon and an altercation ensued, during which Fearon hit the other man on his left arm with a board.

“Parties, do you wish to go to mediation?” Judge Ashley asked both men after the allegations were read.

“No problem,” the complainant immediately answered.

“Yes, Your Honour,” Fearon spoke up.

It was also disclosed that the complainant is booked to appear before the court on May 4 to answer to his own charges in relation to the incident, in a cross-case with Fearon.

“Let us put a note that both parties are interested in mediation,” Judge Ashley commented as she set Fearon’s case for May 4, to coincide with the complainant’s upcoming court date.

While Fearon was the defendant during Tuesday’s sitting, the video recording of the April 11 incident depicted him being assaulted by the other man, who was dressed in a Transport Authority uniform, in full view of students on the compound. In the video, Fearon fell to the ground and was kicked by the other man.

According to reports at the time, the stepfather came to the school and told Fearon that he had received a report that his child was missing. However, in a Gleaner interview shortly after the incident, Fearon said that he had told the parent that the child was playing in the schoolyard and was not missing.

Fearon had further alleged that the stepfather disarmed him of his baton and slapped him in the face, then pushed him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly.

Classes were cancelled at the school the day after the incident, and the Transport Authority announced that it would be carrying out its own internal investigation into the incident. The Ministry of Education condemned the attack on the security guard, while school administrators called for improved security at educational institutions.

Security measures for school staff and students have been a recurring issue over the past few years, and have been amplified in recent months with several violent incidents among students, some of which have been captured and shared on social media. Some of these incidents have had bloody ends, including the March 21 stabbing and subsequent death of William Knibb Memorial High School student Khamal Hall in Trelawny, whose killing was reportedly sparked by a dispute over a guard ring.

Interestingly, the idea of self-defence training for teachers was previously opposed in 2020 by Owen Speid, the then-president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), who said that such training could cause violent clashes to escalate instead of defusing conflicts.

At that time, Speid suggested that teachers could instead arm themselves with non-lethal weapons like pepper spray to fend off attacks from students and other individuals. He also called for more security guards, enhanced surveillance, and stronger security protocols at schools in order to reduce altercations between faculty, students, and parents.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com