Mother of APS student claims teacher choked her son
ATLANTA - The mother of a Crawford Long Middle School student has taken legal action against Atlanta Public Schools after she claims her son was strangled by his teacher.
Cynteria Lomnick is now seeking damages and changes to school policy in the months since her son Tavoris was put in a headlock.
"All I could think about is what’s wrong with my child, what’s wrong with my baby…is he OK?" Lomnick told FOX 5.
The concerned mother recalled the sheer panic she felt after receiving a phone call on May 3 letting her know something was wrong.
"She said ‘hey, I just wanted to let you know that EMS is on their way because Tavoris is unconscious and immediately my heart dropped, and I started crying," she stated.
Cynteria Lomnick says her son’s Crawford Long Middle School teacher choked him until he passed out and is now taking legal action against Atlanta Public Schools. (FOX 5)
An incident report from APS says the seventh-grade student lost consciousness in the classroom that morning.
Lomnick’s attorney, Kianna Chennault, tells FOX 5 days after her son regained his short-term memory, they were told there was much more to the story.
"Tavoris was kind of horse playing, he had something in his hand that the teacher wanted him to put down and instead of properly disciplining Tavoris, the teacher comes up behind him and puts him in a chokehold," she said.
Cynteria Lomnick says her son’s Crawford Long Middle School teacher choked him until he passed out and is now taking legal action against Atlanta Public Schools. (Supplied)
Lomnick said she spoke with her son’s teacher that day, and he told her he’d passed out but did not mention putting him in a headlock.
"To get home and then find out the details of everything…it’s heartbreaking because this is somewhere that I trusted my child to be safe at," she explained.
Chennault claims several students in the class witnessed the incident and an instance of the teacher making light of it afterward.
"He called him ‘little pass outer’ in the weeks to follow after choking him," Chennault said.
Lomnick tells FOX 5 her son has since been diagnosed with pre-PTSD.
Cynteria Lomnick says her son’s Crawford Long Middle School teacher choked him until he passed out and is now taking legal action against Atlanta Public Schools. (FOX 5)
In a demand letter sent to APS, she asked for a thorough investigation into the teacher that led to his firing and $1 million in damages for her son.
"We’re also calling for teachers to have proper de-escalation training. In this instance, nothing Tavoris did warranted being choked," Chennault added.
If those demands aren't met, they plan to file a lawsuit. Atlanta public school officials are investigating this incident.
Chennault says the district asked for additional time to respond to the demand letter. It’s unclear the teacher’s employment status. An APS school spokesperson issued the following statement saying:
"As this is a pending legal matter, Atlanta Public Schools has no comment at this time."