Legal counsel sought after altercation

Between this case and the diabetes cases seems like our school lawyers will have their hands full. bye tax money

isnt this a conflict of interest to have the Beatrice police investigate their own officer in a case that should any wrong doing be found would cost the city a few million bucks?
just to be fair, the attorney general should look this over.

I have a child that attends the Beatrice High School....when i read articles like this i sit down and really wonder what kind of high school that Beatrice has.....i understand that there are times that students can get out of line...but to use much excessive force on a child to leave bodily damgage is just not called for....after reading the article in the Lincoln Journal Star and then this article in the Beatrice paper i think to myself...what would they have done if this student would have had a knife or gun on him...my thinking is that they would have done more damage....the main thing that i am trying to get across is....the paper stated that they were trying to de-escalate the situation....seems to me that it sounds like the officers and administration had a free for all on this student and didnt really care what kind of damage they were doing to him.....since this incident has happen i wonder everyday when i take my child to the Beatrice High School...i wonder if she is ok.....it really makes a person think about the person teaching our children and the administration that is suppose to be protecting our children....someone needs to answer to the excessive force that was put upon this student and questions answered of why this excessive force was used....no child should be treated like that....NO CHILD.....

It is easy to stand in judgment of the treatment this student received; however, until you have been in the schools teaching and having discipline problems, I say leave it to the investigation. I find it interesting that so many times, anymore, parents want to project blame for their child's improper behavior on anyone but their child...that is a huge part of children's behaviors and lack of respect these days...they are not held accountable for their actions!

I fail to see how it could take four grown men to subdue one freshman boy. I think without doubt excessive force was used by the adults. It does make a person think twice about sending children/grandchildren to Beatrice High School.

I read your comment and i am confused at your writings...could you explain yourself more....and signing it.."bye tax money" what is all that about?

i totally agree here with "conflict of interest" as too why is the beatrice police investigating one of their own and not maybe the state police or the attorney generals office or is there a cover up about too happen in the PD sounds fishy too me... i certainly hope this lady sues and gets what they deserve as it was stated below by diane NO CHILD needs too feel threatened or beaten in the school system they are there too learn and feel safe, sounds too be the school wasnt doing their job and now they are wanting too cover it up... go figure huh....BEATRICE WHAT A JOKE!!!!!

The mother in this case needs to STOP and LOOK at what her SON is up to. The altercation was as of a result of her not teaching her child proper behavior in society. NO EXCUSES PLEASE. Educators and law enforcement has such a tough job today dealing with delinquent and violent youth! I am proud of them protecting the rest of the student body and not letting that child hurt someone else's kid!! THAT would've been a tragedy.

Diane, sounds like you are quick to call it "excessive force". I was not there, and my guess is that you were not there either so who can say it was excessive. I think you hit the nail on the head when you spoke about if he had a gun or a knife. My guess is if there was a situation like that you would want the administration and the officer to do all they can to protect your child and all of the children at the school. Again neither of us were there so lets not call it excessive force, since we have no idea what force was needed to control the situation for the officer not to get hurt.

Everyone is quick to jump on the officers back without paying attention to details......... According to the article he has not had any complaints against him since 1997........ Maybe one (Diane) should question what the students behavior was before laying the blame......I am sure something had to happen that caused the officer to handle the situation like he did...... It is a shame you worry about you child when you drop her off for school. I think it is a great asset to have a police officer in the schools today with the type of world we are living in. I guess all I am saying is wait until the investigations are complete and the details all come out before jumping to conclusion that the officer acted unjustly!

To the people that have made comments toward my opinions i say this....if you think that the police officer and administration are really protecting our children then you might want to ask them about the conversations that are happening in the high school bathrooms and in students cars before and after school. I have been parked in the parking lot several times and over heard conversations and seen students smoking in cars....but i am not going to mention any organizations that the students might belong to or their names...they know who they are....so may i ask where the parenting is in that situation. Again, I will state that the student in this article might have been wrong in one way...but NO CHILD DESERVES TO BE BEATEN AND LEFT IN A ROOM BY HIMSELF (handcuffed) UNTIL HIS PARENT SHOWS UP. The Beatrice High School didnt even care enough about a student to call for medical assistance when they knew there might be injuries. This is my opinion and I am sticking to it. Thank you your time.

This child is not an average student, he has soom very serious issues. I think we need to stop blaming anyone and focus on helping this boy and not hurting him further. Teaching him to blame the police, his mother or the school is wrong and is not helping him, it only giving him a way "out". Accoutablity first blame last.

Sounds like the student should have had a few more spanking when he was little. Oppositional defiance disorder? Sounds like the kid is in control not the parent. Last time I checked I was the head of my household, not my children. When I tell them NO! they stop or reap the consequences. Sounds like he just chose to reap those consequences. I'm know for a fact, if he had injuries, the school nurse and administration would have taken care of it immediately.

he does deserve to be left in a room himself and handcuffed. i dont want this out of control kid running rampant around my kid. were you there diane? do you know what really happened? my kid was at school when this happened. there are obvious parenting problems, but when a kid is running rampant then he was putting others in danger. the smoking thing is bad also, but how where they putting others in immediate danger. i guess when there is another situation out there are the highschool then they should call you and you can come handle an out of control teenager and "talk him down" good luck to you.

I agree that the newspaper doesn't give too much detail of the incident which is too bad that leads the narrow minded people to jump to conclusions. Sorry, my opinion.

I too have a child with mental health issues that require medication and therapy sessions. I too have been called to the school, not Beatrice High, for an out of control child. I too know exactly the stress of this parent and others involved.

Let's just back off of all members involved cuz unless you were there, no one but the ones involved know what happened and then you question what did just happen. Peers these days are cruel, teachers can be just as cruel, and maybe this young man is cycling and the staff at the school DOES NOT know how to handle a child with this kind of issues. Been there DONE THAT!!! Teachers are not taught how to handle children with these special needs. Just to call the cop and let them deal with it. Then look..... hmmm.... somone is injured.

Unless your a parent of a child with mental health issues, do not judge anyone, the police, the child, or the parent. It is NOT an easy task for all!

Why don't you have compassion for all involved? Open your eyes instead of your mouth. Be helpful instead of blaming.

Sounds to me like he got what he deserved. Physical force is a good deterrent for future altercations. Kudos to the school administration and resource officer for handling this professionally.

Does anyone have the real facts on this case? Did the student not put others at danger in the classroom he was asked to leave? Was the officer trying to protect EVERYONE when this student returned to the school after asked to leave and wouldn't stop when asked where he was going (and was he hiding anything)? I commend the officer and administration for protecting the rest of the students because they didn't know what my happen. AND of course no harm would have been done had the student stopped!!

Are the people of Beatrice really taking the time to think this through!! This student obviously has some anger issues that have been addressed prior but the parents continue to allow him to treat people of authority with disrespect. What next? Do you want the school to sit back and see where his anger takes him next. Maybe you should go back and read the articles from schools that turned a blind eye to problem children and then had to clean up the bloody hallways. If it takes some force to control an out of control child than so be it!! I think the parents should have considered this type of discipline years ago before this poor kid lost all control of his anger. This did not start yesterday but is how this young man was raised, that there is no authority and no rules...it is high time someone taught him just that. Hurray for Officer Byrne

I would like to comment on this article if i may....there is alot of comments that the administration and the officers did what they had to for protection of the other students and faculity of the Beatrice High School...I didnt read anything in the article that states that the student tried to hurt or harm anyone in the school....neither other students or faculty. According to the Lincoln Journal Star it stated that the student suffered a dislocated shoulder, bruises on his back, wrists, neck and face and cuts on his wrists and neck.....explain to me why all that had to happen when officials stated that they were just trying to de-escalate the situation. Sounds to me like it was a free for all. I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of this arguement in future articles.

First of all, KUDOS to Hmmm, the 1st comment here...I do believe that it IS a conflict of interest for the police to investigate one of their own. I would also like to know WHY none of the school officials have been punished for their actions, REGARDLESS of who or what kind of child this happened to. They ADMITTED in the Journal-Star interview that was done with the mother and son, that the boys injuries were caused DURING this altercation. If an outside person were to commit an assault on another person, and then admit to it, would they, too, be free from punishment? Would the person that was assaulted be judged and punished for this? I think not. So why should it be any different for ANYONE else?
Also, for the community member who says STOP and LOOK to the mother...IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO THE CHILD IS...HE IS STILL A HUMAN BEING AND IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY....a boy who is entrusted to these officials that are there to educate and protect our youth from harm. Who will protect them from those people? What the hell kind of class was this???? Please tell me what kind of education was this? Would you feel the same if this was YOUR kid? You automatically assume alot of info here, and I can be one to tell you that my child witnessed the entire thing and has been very traumatized since, not understanding why, if the boy was not brandishing a weapon or being forceful FIRST, these grown men would attack him so violently. So is MY kid a bad one too?
Get a grip lady, and while doing so, get a clue. Read some definitions first, such as DE-ESCALATE and also pick up a copy of the school handbook with their mission statement in it. Not anywhere does it say if your child is a junvenile delinquent or less then best, we will beat him up...and then blame it on him? NO...it says NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND...AND ALL YOUTH ARE ENTITLED TO AN EDUCATION. The education that this boy got sounds more like the education you get on the streets!!! But I do understand there are alot of idiot people out there who ASSUME many, judge even more and by all means must never have read the bible....JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED...
in laymans terms, sweep your own porch before you put your broom to anyone elses.....
Thanks to those who can think outside the box.

Great Job "Always Watching" I dont think anyone could have said it better!!

You you believe in what you are saying???? Innocent until proven guilty is your quote however you cast the stone of guilt upon the officer and school staff. Maybe you should give your son a big hug tonight when he returns home from school because he wasn't hurt at school today (or the day in question) thanks to the staff and the school resource officer who try to provide the safest school possible.

I would like to make a few comments..to you (parent) I understand that our young children may need more discipline in their lifes but our children know that if we discipline (spank) them they know they can go to school or a police officer and tell them "mommy and daddy beat us last night" then the parents have to deal with CPS and law enforcement when all we are doing is disciplining our children. Hmmmmm....wow....it does happen. As for the nurses and administration not treating him for injuries, i guess they just didnt see the cuts or they just didnt want to admit or have it on record that the administration and officers did do damage to the student. As for (To diane) you stated that he was an out of control running rampant in the school...well...he was trying to retreive his backpack and call his mother to come pick him up as it was raining. You might want to refer back to the Lincoln Journal Star for that information. I also have a child that has an anger problem and there has been times that i have needed to de-escalate the situation...talking to her like an adult helped at the time and not once did i ever think about beating my child down to get the situation under control. For (Vickey) I agree with you. There are many kids in today's society that are very cruel and I myself have seen just how cruel kids and sorry to say this but....teachers and administration can be just as cruel. I have also seen administration and teachers in the Beatrice school system have there little favorites or should we say "pets" I think that all of this should be looked at very widely and closely because someone has to be in the wrong. (Kim A.) I cant believe that you could say a thing like that about a child. NO CHILD NEEDS TO BE INJURED LIKE THAT JUST BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO GET HIS BACKPACK AND CALL HIS MOM. Sounds to me that you have no problem letting children get beat. Hmmmm....Im sorry...i just cant give KUDOS to the administration and officers for the damage that they did to this student and the mind damage that they have done....do you really think at this time that he would have ANY respect for authority now....lets look at this....trying to get your backpack and call your mom = several injuries done by administration and police officers during de-escalation and beating....just dont add up....

I think the problem here is that this happened in a small town, with small minded people in charge. It this young man's last name had been different, this situation would have been handled differently. How many grown men does it take to DE-ESCALATE a young man. If I were to dislocate my child's shoulder and leave bruises all over her body, I would be in jail for child abuse. So to all of you close-minded Beatrice folks who are quick to blame the child and his mother, let this happen to your child and see how you feel. Abuse is abuse, it doesn't matter who the abuser is, they should all be punished. Let's look out for the children. I hope people can pull their head's out and see the truth of what happened here!

This will be the last comment I will waste my time making to those of you here that say HURRAY to those big grown men who beat up a kid....WOOOHOOOO...what a victory! Put THAT on your resume'...yeah, sure, me and three other grown men beat up this boy that was trying to WALK...he didn't look right....he appeared to look like.....OHH MY GAWD!!!...a typical teenager in the year 2008!!!! ARREST THIS BOY...LOCK HIM UP AND CHOP HIM TO PIECES....he tried to walk back into the school!!!!
OH and again, I say read the facts. If the boy was such a threat and soooo violent that they had to beat him down, please tell me why HE was the only one with injuries? And come on, the school PRINCIPAL was one of the brutes, you think any of the timid little office maidens want to lose their job??? They just turned their head probably, just like all cowards do.
What a sad day it will be if people like the cowards and brutes rule our country.

Actually...my child was there, and without the quick thinking of the officer and administration, it could have proven to be a bigger problem than it was. With that said, it is often times so much easier to blame what we do not know than a child as we all want to believe the best in each kid; however, that is not always the case with kids who have no boundaries. Unless you work in the school system, you do not have a clue about what teachers and administrators are expected to put up with on a daily basis. Without rules and consequences, it would prove chaotic, and he broke the rules and refused to back down. The office did his job, as did the administration. This child was not beaten as some of you have assumed! He was expediantly put in a position as to not hurt himself or others.

With great power comes great responsibility"*

BPS and Beatrice police excluded

too all those who are making remarks and saying this young boy got what he deserves... well ask yourself this question...would you think that way if your son or daughter was the one who was beat the way this boy was.. would u have been happy seeing your son or daugher injured this way... my guess probably not....as its been stated in here before..NO CHILD DESERVES TOO BE BEATEN IN A MANNER THIS CHILD WAS.. sounds too me like some of you all need too sweep in front of your own door and stop and think before you speak......i hope this boy has a speedy recovery and the school and that cop involed is punished too the max

I think too many of you reading this article and commenting are quite naive and some are just ignorant.

You read an article in the paper that has a 15-year youth, who by his own mother's admission (from the Lincoln Journal Star) has "Oppositional Defiance Disorder" (meaning he doesn't doesn't like authority, or doesn't think it applys to him). The 15-year old was kicked out of school because of something HE did, and was told not to go back, and was not allowed back in the school.

So, this 15-year attempts to go back in the school, after given a lawful order by an officer. Then the 15-year old attempts to go back in the school by pushing past an officer. The officer reacts by placing him under arrest or detaining him, as he is allowed to do within the law. Unfortunately, the 15-year old is possibly brusied and said to have dislocated his shoulder. Either way, actions and results all of which stemmed from one 15-year old who doesn't think authority applys to him.

I have read the same articles that everyone else has, and I cannot figure out why anyone would support this 15-year old or his mother!

It's unfortunate that this kid was injured, BUT to all of you who are feeling sorry for this kid, the administration was just taking the necessary steps to make sure this student didn't do harm to anyone else. Now, had he pulled out a gun and shot 10 students you would ALL be complaining that "Somebody should have stopped him once he started getting out of control". Who knows, maybe he just did go in to get his backpack - but he knew he wasn't allowed back in and in this day in age (unfortunately) you never know what's going to happen. His injuries are not life threatening, he's going to be fine... this situation could have been much worse. I'm not saying he got what he deserved, I'm merely saying the situation was handled as it should have been to protect other students. I graduated from Beatrice High School a few years ago and have no reason to believe that the administration and officer Byrne would harm this kid if they didn't have any reason.

KUDOS KUDOS AND MORE KUDOS to the Faibury Mother....you are exactly right....names mean alot in the town of Beatrice....if this would have been a student with a different name they would have been sent to the cafeteria for a milk and cookie to calm down and the office would have called his/or her parent. I have been dealing with the Beatrice school system for many years now and have seen it going on too much....in the class rooms, sports, and many organizations. Again, KUDOS to you!!!!!

Im sorry but I dont think that if you had children and this happend to your child, that you "nay-sayers" would have the attitude that this child deserved to be beat like this. If this "altercation" happend on the street, say 4 people beating someone..they sure wouldnt get away with it, wether they were provoked or not....They would still face consequenses. The fact is this child was beat and recieved significant injuries and those responsible should be facing some consequenses.

Why does it seem that Fairbury people hate Beatrice? I don't know anyone in Beatrice that hates Fairbury. I have kids in sports and sit with all the parents and never hear people talk bad about Fairbury, but I have heard it the other way around. Intresting.

For everyone who thinks that Mr. Wilcox was abused by the resource officer or the administration at BHS, just think what would have happened if they had let him roam the halls with his temper flaring. If Columbine would have happened earlier this year or last year, we would not be saying that the administration was acting in the wrong.

Mr. Wilcox refused to listen and appropriate steps were taken to neutralize the situation. Do you really think that he would have been injured if he had done what was instructed and not fought back? Officer Byrne and Principal Sutter are pretty big individuals. This kid was fighting back and the appropriate steps were taken. Ms. Blakemore should use her money to instead get her kid more help.

spare the rod, spoil the child

To one-sided: First one must learn to read, and then, read between the lines. Then, and ONLY then, will one have the WHOLE story.
You must not have any children in this school system. There is one thing that they don't teach in this place, and that is reality. Reality is that you wouldn't beat a paralyzed kid in a wheelchair because he didn't get up and walk, would you? So why would you beat a boy who ALREADY has issues with authority, etc.? How about a person with lung cancer....offer them a smoke? A person with learning disabilities...enroll them in Calculus? Just so my message is clear-a person with a disability, no matter if YOU believe in that disability or not, is still afflicted. But they are also PEOPLE. If this Officer was following the law, and doing his job, as you so say, why then, did he feel the need to have 3 more GROWN men help him and why then, do THEY not face consequences for their part?
Oh and by the way, I don't HAVE to know the people involved, I would feel the same if it happened to anyone elses child too...except maybe yours...because after all, his disability would be...well YOU do the math.

I find it quite hilarious that some of you went out of your way to bad mouth the officials. Now we waited to get the truth, via videotape of the incident, and you can all get your forks out and start eating the crow.

I am glad to hear that Officer Byrne was found to be innocent.

The ones that were trash talking the officials should all write letters apologizing for being ingnorant.

First, I doubt if any of you making comments were there so you do not know the facts. Second, what if this student had tried to re-enter the school with a gun and began shooting. Would you be so judgemental towards the officer? I think not. Finally, if the student had done what he was told, none of this would have happened.

Won't somebody think of our PRECIOUS and UNIQUE SNOWFLAKES that would NEVER do any wrong?

Just for the record, no, I was not there when the altercation happened. However, I have worked in the State Penal and Mental Health system and I don't recall any inmates or patients being hurt this badly during a take-down. Usually, it is the staff that is injured. Obviously, the staff at BHS and the police officer need to be trained to respond properly to minors that are out of control. From what I have read, the injuries to this student could have been avoided if the adults hadn't over-reacted. De-escalating DOES NOT MEAN a take-down. It means calming down both parties. Having dealt with school authority figures in regards to my own son, I can tell you that the majority of them are quick to escalate a situation because they feel their authority is being threatened. It is so easy for adults to become angry when dealing with a "problem" student, but they need to stay in control of their own emotions and not take them out on a minor child.

Humm I was from Fairbury about 30 years ago and don't remember them having all the problems they have now. I guess our police force don't add up like theirs. After all who else has a police chief that was a preacher? I know if our dogs bark like his do we would get a ticket hands down. I guess Fairbury has it all. Don't want to start on the mayor issue as that is a real JOKE!!

To: Still Watching,

Your comments show I am talking about. The disability analogies are great, but now your comparing apples to oranges.

My point is, people read the articles and read ONLY one side, the side from a troubled youth who doesn't think authority applies to him (as said by his own mother). It sure would be interesting to hear the other side of this story from a professional police officer, and professional educators.

Is there any chance this story was embellished by this youth? Do you really think that 3, 4, or 5 grown professional men are going to risk their successful careers to take pop-shots at 15-year old or "beat" according to the 15-year old? If you answered yes, then you're not living in reality.

OMG....just viewed the video of Beatrice Police chief....and all i can say is this case is starting to sound like OJ Simpson trial....he was innocent just like the adminstration and resourse officer...but can we say.......CIVIL SUIT....someone will pay for what damages they have done....i cant believe that the people that did this damage can sleep at night.....if the resource officer would have drove up to a fight in front of a bar and seen four guys on one person....those four guys would have went to jail for questioning and possible stay in a jail cell....can we say....ONE-SIDED AND COVER-UP....that is all for now....look forward to your comments.....smile....people might think you are up to something....LOL

Do the names Klebold and Harris ring a bell?! Had a few "grown men" stopped them in 1999, 15 people might not have died at Columbine! Think about it!

First off who can read all the details, most of you are looking at the lincoln journal star article that JUST has the MOTHER'S point of view. The mother is always backing up her son and has a biased view on it. And to all the so called "beating" have you ever seen an angry person resist arrest? I know how easy it is to dislocate your shoulder and if your arm is behind your back being handcuffed and you angrily try and pull it away it's going to dislocate if a strong person is holding it, which Officer Byrne is. I worked in the office around him just last year and he never took things to a physical state if he didn't have to. Most of the students there understand that and so when he talks to them he is listening.
Also in response to the "beating" if the boy was fighting arrest it's very easy to get bruises and cuts. And I have fights there and I would be lying if I said at times they don't get scary, but the teacher take care of it properly and quickly. I've seen angry kids that just get ignored and the administration said let them cool off, and then the first person they see that says something wrong they hit them and we have a huge fight where other people are getting hurt. It's good to see that the people involved learned from previous issues. And I would hate to think of what would have happened if the administrators and Officer Byrne hadn't stepped in what could have happened. What if he was going to get his bag where he was hiding a weapon? He could have easily have stopped like Officer Byrne asked him to, and somebody could have retrieved it. If the student hadn't gotten extremely angry and would have listened to authority none of this would have happened.
And to the person who wants the bathrooms watched, they are! Like I said I worked in the office as a student and we have cameras that watch the entrance, but we can't be watching inside of the bathrooms because it's a VIOLATION OF PRIVACY! And if there is smoking in the bathroom the students are supposed to report when they smelled it and where and the administrators and officer go to the video to try and figure it out. But you can't watch everything. So basically Think about what you are saying before you say them. I never felt threatened at the high school because i knew we had the protection there that would take the proper action. In fact if you look at it more serious things happen at the Middle School and nobody has worried about them, doesn't quite make sense to me. I'm just glad we had the video tapes looked at so all these people who automatically think the child's story is always right were believed and Officer Byrne was found to be innocent. It's amazing how stories can be changed from the actual event, which the video tape showed.

The article states the youth was injured by a Beatrice Police officer. It would more correctly read the he was injured after being expelled from school, trespassing, failing to obey a lawful order, pushing a police officer, and resisting arrest. He put himself in the position to be taken control of, not counciled, those efforts had already been made. Where did we get the information that he was beaten by these four men. Nowhere but right here. HE RISISTED, was restrained, and got a mark, not an intentional beating. Get a grip.

For anyone that is open minded to this discussion please listen. First I would like to mention that this has nothing to do with Fairbury vs Beatrice. It is to my knowledge that law enforcement officers are trained with certain tactics to maintain or subdue an individual. I have only been taught a few of these tactics due to my employment at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. I do know that it does not take 4 grown men to de-escalate a situation involving this 15 year old boy. Just to let the individuals know that are all for excessive use of force you are only enocouraging law enforcement to continue there illegal acts. I do not know this kid just like the rest of you that are commenting and know nothing about the situation or the kid. So I opened up my mind and tryed to think why is there a law eforcement officer at the Beatrice High School. Is't the point to prevent situations like this from happening. To the individuals with the child that got man handled I send my best regards and wish you the best of luck.