NY: Student Speaks Out Against Abuse By School Safety Agents

November 14, 2009 6:04 PM

NY High Schools Examiner

Kevin Subramany

http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=74661

Jeffrey Paulino, 16, had to be hospitalized in April after school safety agents hit the Bushwick teen with a flashlight and put him in a stranglehold until he passed out. Paulino showed photos of himself with scratches on his face and neck.

"They treated me like an animal. No student should be treated that way," said Paulino. He was among 75 students, parents and New York Civil Liberties Union advocates who rallied in support of a bill providing more oversight of safety agents.

A police source defended his arrest, saying the teen was collared because he tried to block a school safety agent from arresting two other individuals that day. The source also noted that Paulino is facing gang assault and robbery charges for a June incident in which he and four others allegedly held a box cutter to a woman's lip and kicked her in the face before swiping her jewelry and cell phone.