Jamaica College addresses student assault incident, calls dispute regrettable

Jamaica College has pushed back strongly against media reports about a violent March 24 incident at the school, which resulted in injuries to one boy and the arrest of another.

In a statement today, the school provided what the institution said was information from written statements by the boys involved, which shows variance from what has been reported.

The statement signed by the school’s chairman, Lance Hylton, acknowledged that the incident was serious and regrettable, and that it is being treated with utmost seriousness.

However, it challenged the veracity of the content of at least one media report, stating it gave an incorrect and misleading impression of the events, and did not match written statements provided by the boys involved.

“The discrepancies between the verified contemporaneous records and the broadcast narrative, together with the manner and timing of the report, raise concerns that will be addressed through appropriate channels. Jamaica College remains fully committed to the safety and well-being of all students, the fair and thorough investigation of all incidents, and the upholding of due process and justice….,” said Hylton.

The statement referenced the statement provided by the boys, and also witnesses, and cited the injured boy as Boy 3, and two others as Boys 1 and Boy 2.

“Boy 1 was walking towards the lunch venue and a $2,000 note fell from his pocket. Boy 2 noticed this and called out to Boy 1 to alert him to the fact that his money had fallen to the ground. Boy 3, who was walking in the opposite direction, having already bought his lunch, thought that Boy 2 was talking to him and so he took up the $2,000 note. Boy 1 demanded the money, as by now he had realised that it was his, but Boy 3 refused to give it back to him. A verbal altercation and ‘pushing and pulling’ ensued as Boy 1 tried to take back the money and Boy 3 resisted. Boy 3 realised that the money wasn’t his and apologised for his error. Writing in his statement that he “said it was a misunderstanding and I thought it was mine. I handed it over….” the statement read in part.

Continuing, it said, “… Boy 3 later verbally admitted that he checked his top pocket and realised that his $2,000 note was still there. Boy 3 wrote that after he handed over the money, Boy 1 punched him in the face ‘while moving away’ and he, Boy 3, threw his food at Boy 1 “in anger”, where after Boy 1 punched him in the face again and “broke his nose”. The eyewitness accounts stated that Boy 1 pushed Boy 3 after he got back the money and matters escalated after Boy 3 cursed Boy 1 using expletives and threw his lunch into Boy 1’s face. It was in retaliation for this that Boy 1 punched Boy 3 in the face and broke his nose…”

According to the statement, eyewitnesses said it was a fight just between Boy 1 and Boy 3 and that other boys intervened to part them.

It said, at no time in his (Boy 3) written contemporaneous statement did he suggest that he was attacked and beaten up by bullies or that he had a fight with anyone other than Boy 1.

The statement said the witnesses to the event alerted the Dean of Discipline and also took the injured boy to the school’s nurse, who immediately attended to him, and his mother was called.

“The school followed its well-established internal protocol and immediately interviewed the parties and witnesses. The Dean of Discipline met with the mother of Boy 3 on the scene, and school officials have kept in touch with him ever since, almost daily, checking on the welfare of Boy 3. Importantly, the contemporaneous statements do not support the characterisation of a coordinated group assault, nor do they substantiate broader claims of systemic bullying…” the statement also read.

Principal Wayne Robinson told The Gleaner that it was important for the school to follow protocol as it could become a court matter with the police already involved.

“Everybody has to write written reports. So we have a signed statement, and I have a signed nurse report on the very same day it happened. We had to spend yesterday making sure we had all the statements, and all of them were done in the proper procedures of the school. We met with everybody. We met before we released anything at all. We had to make it very clear that we don't get this thing because it’s a legal

matter,” Robinson said.

He said the injured boy was admitted to Jamaica College in October last year and prior to the incident, there were no reports of bullying.

Robinson said in addressing the matter on Tuesday, he told the boys that a fight over foolishness would land them in trouble.

“I said, gentlemen, we can't be fighting over foolishness. You are willing to fight when we are out there at sporting events fighting against Kingston College, and still you walk together. We are a brotherhood, and yet we come here, and we're not brothers over what? Over some food and all kinds of foolishness. Yeah, we're not fighting, gentlemen. If you fight, you're going to be in trouble,” he told The Gleaner.

The statement said that the board will continue to engage the matter responsibly and through the appropriate channels.

The injured boy’s mother said she has spent in excess of a quarter million dollars in medical fees, and that the cost was climbing.

Both the school and the mother acknowledged that the boy suffered a broken nose.

One boy has been charged by the Matilda’s Corner police.

- Erica Virtue

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