NORTH WEBSTER — Syracuse resident Brock Hawthorne says he has contacted every department necessary to get answers as to why his special needs son, Deklan, was assaulted while on a parked bus in front of North Webster Elementary School on Friday, Sept. 4.

According to Hawthorne, when his four children got off the bus on Sept. 4, he learned that a fifth-grade student had wrenched Deklan’s arm behind his back and bent back his fingers after Deklan tried to touch the child’s tablet device. Deklan is a six-year-old student and has attended the school since August.

Hawthorne claims the bus driver was not on the parked bus at the time of the incident, and he wants to know why the bus remained unsupervised. Wawasee reported the driver was present, and Hawthorne responded by saying, “Show me proof that she was on the bus.” Hawthorne said his son, Lynden, brought attention to the situation, but the bus driver dismissed the children for the start of school.

Hawthorne said his son showed signs of bruising and swelling following the incident, but did not visit a doctor. “The physical damages were minor compared to the mental damages,” said Hawthorne. He learned of the incident from his other son, Lynden, when the children exited the bus on Friday afternoon. Hawthorne said he immediately addressed the situation with the bus driver, who claimed she would watch the video taken on the bus.

Deklan’s father feels the school is not handling the situation correctly, and is possibly trying to cover up the incident. Hawthorne said he repeatedly asked for an “unedited and unmolested” copy of the video, but when he arranged a viewing with the school, they only offered a small clip from the footage and technical playback errors prevented it from being seen. Since then, Hawthorne said he has demanded to see all of the footage, “from the time he was on the bus till the time he got off the bus.” But, Wawasee School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Tom Edington said a school representative contacted Hawthorne to try to show him the video again, which he refused.

Edington said he can’t show him the full video. “There are some privacy rules having to do with that,” said Edington, noting there are many other children present on the bus and it would violate their rights. “I’m absolutely sure if the situation were reversed, he would not want that video out and around,” added Edington.

According to Hawthorne, he has filed a police report with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, who is currently investigating. Edington reports the corporation is currently investigating the incident also, along with a state representative from the Americans with Disabilities Act. Hawthorne said he was happy to hear that investigations were still ongoing.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Hawthorne created a GoFundMe account in Deklan’s name, asking the public for $75,000 to support his cause. “We don’t want any type of monetary gain in this,” said Hawthorne when speaking about the donation account. Hawthorne said he wants to bring awareness to the community, and sees it as the first step in changing the ideas. Hawthorne referenced the school’s “zero tolerance” policy many times.

Edington was not aware of the account, but noted that Hawthorne had implied seeking monetary compensation through legal means prior to the creation of the account.

“If you’re different, it’s bad at Wawasee,” said Hawthorne. He said his goal from this is to see a cultural change at Wawasee Community School Corporation. “There’s nothing that has come forward through the interview process or through the video that would indicate the incident happened how the father described it,” said Edington, “Not at all.”

The incident continues to be investigated by police and school officials.