Gabriel Taye can be seen lying on the bathroom floor for several minutes.
A school surveillance video shows other students nudging or poking Gabriel with their feet as the 8-year-old lay motionless. At one point, three students can be seen standing over Gabriel. One of them, a boy wearing a blue sweater, raises his leg until his knee was at waist level before walking away.
This week, the Hamilton County Coroner said she is reopening the investigation because of what the video reportedly shows.
According to WKRC, Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco says she wants to see the video. Should it show something that would force her to amend the death certificate, the case could end up in the hands of prosecutors.
Attorney Jennifer Branch said the video, which had yet to be made public as of Friday morning, shows a boy in the school bathroom assaulting other children when Gabe walks in.
According to Branch, Gabe leans in to shake the alleged assailant’s hand when Gabe is pulled forward then slammed into a wall.
Branch said Gabe was knocked unconscious and remained so on the bathroom floor for over seven minutes. The boy then reportedly appears to celebrate as Gabe lies motionless on the floor.
“If the school had told mom that ‘your son was assaulted,’ ‘your son had lost consciousness for seven minutes,’ she would have immediately taken him to the hospital and had him examined,” Branch said. “She’s devastated that her son’s second to last day was so painful for him and that she didn’t know and that she couldn’t protect him.”
No charges have been filed against any student.
In a statement, Cincinnati Public Schools said while they are concerned about the lack of adult supervision at the scene, a nurse checked Gabe then called his mother.
“A recent story in the Cincinnati Enquirer recounted an email written by a Cincinnati Police Department detective about an incident at Carson School during which Gabriel Taye collapsed and lay motionless for several minutes. The article suggests that other students were beating Gabriel during this incident, a description that video evidence does not support. The article also portrays other students in the video as ‘aggressors.’ Video evidence does not support this characterization,” the statement reads in part.
“While we are concerned about the length of time Gabriel lay motionless and the lack of adult supervision at the scene, when school administrators became aware of the situation, they immediately followed protocol by calling the school nurse to evaluate Gabriel,” the statement continues.
The school system said Gabe’s vital signs were deemed normal.
Cincinnati Public Schools did not specifically address whether a single assailant caused Gabe to lose consciousness.
While the school system maintained the video of Gabe was mischaracterized by police and the Cincinnati Enquirer, officials said “our thoughts and prayers remain with his family.”
Source: edition.cnn.com
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