A school monitor appears to hold a student in a headlock as the boy collapses toward the ground during the incident at the St. Croix Educational Complex. Photo Credit: SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT.
ST. CROIX — The family of a young man who was knocked unconscious after being placed in a headlock by a school monitor at the St. Croix Educational Complex says it has reported the matter to police and intends to press charges, while the V.I. Police Department has told the family the case is under investigation.
Speaking Tuesday night with The Consortium, the boy’s father, Kervin Dujon, said the family did not initially realize how serious the incident was until video of the encounter surfaced online. He said the student’s mother went to the school after the incident, where the monitor explained that he had to hold the child down. According to Dujon, the family did not at first know that the boy had passed out.
“What happened is that we didn't know how serious it was until the video came out,” Dujon said. “When the video came out and we saw exactly what happened, he did not say that my son had passed out or anything like that. The video shows all of that."
Dujon said the video shows the monitor with his son in what he described as a chokehold while another staff member tried to pull the man’s hands away. He said his son was not fighting back and instead was trying to breathe.
“My son even threw up his hands in the air like he gave up,” Dujon said. “He wasn't even fighting him back, or nothing. My son was trying to breathe.”
He said the boy then lost consciousness and was slapped while being told to wake up.
The father said the student is now physically okay, but remains shaken by what happened. “Well, for right now, he's okay, but he's traumatized,” Dujon said, adding that his son is afraid to go to sleep because he is worried about whether he will wake up.
According to Dujon, the confrontation began after his son was sent to study hall because he did not have class at that time. He said the staff member in charge of study hall told the student he could go in, but another employee accused him of skipping class. Dujon said his son insisted he was not skipping and that when the matter was checked, he was found to be telling the truth.
The situation then escalated, Dujon said, after the employee made a comment about the child’s mother. He said his son reacted, an argument followed, and the school monitor was called in.
“She ended up telling him something by his mother, and that was it,” Dujon said. “He popped off and arguments started, then she called the monitor. The monitor came and grabbed him."
The family says the matter has now been formally taken to police. Dujon said the child’s mother went to the police station Monday and made a report.
According to Dujon, the family was told by police that the matter remains under investigation. He questioned what more needed to be reviewed given the existence of the video, which he described as “horrible.”
“They say they're still having to go in under investigation,” he said. “And what is it to investigate…it's right there.”
Dujon also said that, as far as he knows, the school monitor has been placed on leave. The Consortium has not independently confirmed that administrative action.
The father said he wants the monitor removed from the school system and held accountable through the legal process.
“He don't belong to being there,” Dujon said.
He also alleged that this was not the first time the monitor had been involved in an incident with students. Recalling an episode from about a year ago, Dujon said students had once tried to throw the man over a railing after something he allegedly did to them. That allegation has not been independently verified.
On Tuesday night, The Consortium reached out to VIPD Commissioner Mario Brooks for comment but was unable to reach him. The Consortium then contacted Glen Dratte, the department’s public information officer, who said VIPD would provide a response. As of publication, that response had not yet been received.
For now, the family says its focus is on seeking justice through the proper channels while waiting to see what action police take next.
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