BULLHEAD CITY — Bullhead City School District and the Bullhead City Police Department have investigated an incident which was also shared by a parent on multiple social media sites. Fortunately, the school bus camera captured both video and audio, and some of the social media claims are not substantiated.
Based on her child’s information, the parent said that an unauthorized adult entered the school bus at a stop, berated other children about bullying, threatened physical harm and directed an obscene gesture toward students, which was then returned by another student. The parent also posted that the BCPD did not appear to take the situation seriously enough to investigate, because names of all parties were not available.
The alleged incident occurred late in the day, and a BCPD officer had been assigned the case that evening. School offices had already closed, but District personnel were actively addressing it before 7:00 a.m. Thursday.
The video and audio were, in fact, reviewed separately by both the Bullhead City Police Department and the Bullhead City School District’s transportation department. These are the facts:
• An adult entered the bus at a stop while the door was open as children were exiting. He was upset about a bullying issue.
• He should not have been allowed on the bus.
• The bus driver instructed him to get off the bus, and he complied, although he attempted to reenter the bus again a short time later. • His demeanor was calm but terse.
• No threats were made.
• He did not “flip off” anyone, although a student did flip him off.
• A BCPD school resource officer will be contacting certain parents to deal with the issues.
• BCSD will provide remedial training to drivers about unauthorized access to buses.
BCSD and BCPD encourages parents to reach out to schools or the district before posting inflammatory information on social media, as cameras on school buses and campuses can often deliver facts instead of misinformation. It is important to listen to our children when they express concern, but it is also important to verify facts.
This incident involves multiple components – minors who are protected by federal and state privacy laws, adults, a BCSD employee, a law enforcement investigation and more. A video of the incident will be made available if all individuals’ faces (adults and children) can be successfully blurred.
