On Wednesday, 28-year-old Kasey Marie Brooks visited her son’s 61-year-old preschool teacher June Barrow at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Grovetown, Georgia to discuss an incident that had occurred the previous day.
But that meeting descended into chaos when Brooks began attacking Barrow. According to the sheriff’s report filed afterwards, Brooks hit Barrow in the back of the head and just began wailing on her. (You better believe there’s video of this.)
“But then Kasey jumped back on her and again started hitting her with her fist as the victim was lying on the floor,” a sheriff’s report says. “Kasey also bit the victim’s left thumb/palm, leaving visible marks.”
The witnesses pulled the parent off the teacher, and the teacher retreated to a class bathroom and locked the door. Brooks left the building, saying she would “wait for her mugshot,” a report says.
Sounds pretty bad. Barrow was taken to a local hospital for treatment because her face was swollen and the bite marks were visible. Brooks (below) was later charged with battery.
But.
Yes, there’s a but.
Before you form your opinions about her, you should probably know what Brooks says prompted her outrage. It didn’t come out of nowhere. She says she was watching hours of an in-class camera (which is available to parents) the day before and saw the teacher abusing her non-verbal two-year-old son. That’s why they were meeting on Wednesday: To discuss what Brooks had seen on camera. In fact, there was a separate incident report filed with the sheriff documenting the alleged abuse.
Brooks even set up a GoFundMe page — with her mugshot as the image, as if she’s proud of it — telling her side of the story and asking for help with future legal fees. Honestly, her story is pretty infuriating.
… For 3 hours I watched his teacher spank him, hit him in the head, slap him with a book, shove him to the ground, snatch him up by one arm and carry him across the room multiple times, slam him in his seat to make him eat lunch alone in time-out, pick him up by his ankles and hold him on his neck/head, grab his face so hard his cheeks were touching in his mouth as she was nose to nose with him, amongst other things. The daycare director dismissed her employee’s actions and ensured me she would be keeping her job…
The sheriff’s report even explains why Brooks was watching the classroom video in the first place: She had to pick up her son early one day last month after he suffered a leg injury. She didn’t think much of it at the time — it was probably just kids being kids — but her suspicions were aroused shortly after that and she wanted to see what was happening when she dropped off her son. (Barrow’s attorney says the allegations are “wild” and literally “unbelievable.”)
Brooks added that she was only able to watch limited footage from one camera when describing those incidents; the school wouldn’t allow her to watch more. She’s fighting to be able to see everything as part of a potential lawsuit.
Knowing all that, do you have any sympathy for Brooks? I can’t bring myself to condone violence, but if I saw my child’s teacher physically hurting him, I can’t say I wouldn’t be seething with rage either. Brooks told a local news outlet that she “appreciate[d] the opportunity to see [Barrow] feel how my 2 year old son felt when she was standing over him laying helplessly on the ground.”
Brooks’ fundraiser has brought in about $14,000 as of this writing.
(Thanks to M for the link)
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."
It’s Moving Day for the Friendly ..."