Security video of a March confrontation between a principal and a student at a Dartmouth N.S., high school was posted on YouTube on Friday. The video appears to show Ken Fells, who at the time was principal of Graham Creigton Junior High, wrestling with 14 year old Josn Boutilier. Fells was removed as principal at the Cherry Brook school last week, but is still an employee of the Halifax Regional School Board. Josh, who now attends a new school, received a concussion, cuts and bruises during the altercation, according to his family. Mike Wagner and Janet Boutilier had asked to see the video involving their son, but the school board declined to show it. They first saw it Friday afternoon on CBC, after viewing it, the couple said it confirmed Josh's account and repeated their call for Fells to be fired. "It just horrifies me" Boutilier said, adding that her son felt as though he was going to die that day. "What people don't understand is the tape is bad enough. It's what happened in the office that's even worse" Wagner said. The video show Fells dragging Josh into an office, but ends there. Josh sustained a concussion while in the office.I really feel sorry for the family. They were denied everything they asked for. I don't understand why the school board would not show them the video. The family has every right to see the video as their son was attacked by the principal. They should at least be able to see with their own eyes what actually happened. Also, I don't know why the school board has not relieved the principal of his duties. What good is a principal who abuses kids. It's not like the principal was someone special, they should just fire the guy. Another suspicion I have, is how did the boy sustained the concussion once in the office. It's one thing to wrestle someone, but if the principal had punched or hit the boy that is just wrong. The boy must have done something really wrong to get the principal this angry, however it does not give the principal the right to handle it the way he did. In conclusion, I suggest that the school board should fire the principal as soon as possible. It would end the tension and grief and would allow some peace to the family.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/05/28/ns-fells-altercation-video.html
I agree with Nicholas's opinion on this article. What came to mind to me as soon as I watched this video was that, why didn’t anyone intervene? Many of his classmates saw him being handled by this principal and no one stopped him. Ok, they are students and they don’t want to get in trouble, what about the teachers? Teachers were stopping the students from intervening. They clearly know this is wrong and they didn’t do anything. I feel really bad for the student and the principal has no right to abuse the student. I think that the principal should not be allowed near another school and that the school board should take immediate action.
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