VIDEO: 7-year-old boy with autism captured being dragged by teachers
(INSIDE EDITION) - School surveillance video released this week shows a 7-year-old Ohio boy with autism being dragged down hallways by two teachers, who have both been placed on administrative leave, authorities said.
Corbin Kemle is seen on the video struggling with the two women after being picked up before one is seen dragging him by his foot as his face slides against the floor.
The footage became public this week after the local prosecutor closed the case and decided against pursuing felony charges, the Bucyrus Telegraph reported.
But Corbin's mother, Bonnie Kemle McKean, told InsideEdition.com Thursday night that she thinks the teacher and her aide should at least be charged with misdemeanors for endangering her son.
"No charges were filed against these women," she said. "It's just not good enough."
A phone message left after hours by InsideEdition.com with the Crawford County Prosecutor's office was not returned.
McKean posted the video to her Facebook page Wednesday, where it has been viewed more than 63,000 times.
McKean said she had been summoned to the school in May after administrators phoned to tell her Corbin was having a meltdown and was biting and kicking.
When she arrived, Corbin was huddled on the floor, his mother said. "He was visibly shaken up. He was hiding under a chair. He said, 'I hungry, mommy.'"
His doctor had recently told McKean that Corbin was experiencing a growth spurt and needed extra meals, the mom said. She packed his lunch with special snacks.
Corbin "gets really mean when he doesn't eat," she said. The teachers were aware of his recent diagnosis, she said.
She was appalled, she said, by the video showing his teacher and an aide physically restraining her son and then dragging him on the floor.
"They said he had been climbing up a slide backwards and they removed him from the playground," she said. His teacher has known Corbin since preschool, McKean said.
Trying to restrain while he's having a meltdown is the worst way to handle the situation, she said. "If you're calm, he's calm. He mirrors your mood back at you like 10 times more."
McKean said she didn't know what to think at the time. Then about a week later, she was contacted by police, who had reviewed the surveillance after school administrators forwarded the footage.
"There's a fine line between disciplining a child and abusing a child," the mother said. "This was child abuse. He could have fallen, or been hurt while being dragged down the hall."
"We do not condone the type of behavior that is seen in the video," the school district superintendent, Noreen Mullens, told the Telegraph.
The state Board of Education is reviewing the case and "will move forward with disciplinary action," Mullens said.
Corbin's mother said the women should not be allowed in a classroom. "I don't want any other person's kid to go through this," she said.