Photo by Steve Carter/Special to Gila Herald: While most fans were enjoying the high school football game between Thatcher and Pima, some boys were acting like thugs.
“They wanted blood. There was no reason. They didn’t know her. It bothers me that those young children have so much anger.”
Angela Larson – Victim’s Mother
John Johnson
john johnson news@gmail.com
Thatcher – The mother of a 13-year-old girl who was brutally assaulted by three female suspects Friday night at a Thatcher High School football game raised awareness about potential bullying issues in her school district. I’m looking for answers.
The victim suffered a “severe concussion” according to his mother, Angela Larson, after being beaten by up to three girls at once in a one-sided attack at a stadium during a football game between Thatcher and Pima. I was. Multiple eyewitnesses witnessed the attack and videos were uploaded and shared to social media platforms such as the Snapchat app.
Thatcher Police have identified three suspects and will be referred to the juvenile’s probation on Tuesday, according to Thatcher Police Chief Shaffen Woods, who is likely to have aggravated assault charges pending.Graham County In juvenile cases, it is up to the juvenile probation officer to notify the juvenile probation office of the situation and order the suspect’s detention. In this case, probably due to the weekend being a holiday, the Juvenile Probation Office did not approve the suspect’s detention over the weekend.
“They’ve been able to locate the suspects, they’ve got admission and stuff, so they’re going to be charged,” Woods said. “They (juvenile probation service) are the ones who decided not to detain and simply write it down as a referral and send it to them.”
The Juvenile Probation Service will review the referrals on Tuesday and, if warranted, will submit them to the Graham County Attorney’s Office for claim.
Graham County once held juveniles Eastern Arizona Regional Juvenile Detention Facility (EARJDF)However, the facility closed in 2018 after 18 years of service due to lost federal contracts and budgetary concerns. At that time, the county began transferring juvenile offenders to Florence, Pinal County, where they were detained at a cost of $175 per day (not including transfer fees).
“My daughter was put in a hospital bed and then came home and all of this prevented her from enjoying her weekend as usual, but these girls are still free to roam,” Larson said. said.
A disturbing video shows three suspects kicking a victim as he lies on a concrete sidewalk. In another video, the suspect repeatedly slams the victim’s head into concrete while others watch. In both cases, no one watching the aggravated assault stepped in to stop it.
“I hope we can do better as a community,” Woods said. It’s sad that these young kids feel it’s the right thing to do. It’s unacceptable and as a community we need to do better.”
The victim’s mother wondered why the attack on her daughter continued for so long in front of so many witnesses.
“No one stepped in to help her,” Larson said. “No one stepped in and intervened. No one went to the scene and grabbed an adult or brought her one of the (four) police officers to the scene…that. did nothing about.”
“All these people stand there and wait when no one helps because people are afraid. What is wrong with our community and our world? is a small community, we are supposed to be Gila Valley Strong.
After publication, another witness reported to the Hilla Herald that a Pima high school girl had intervened when she realized an assault was taking place.
Larson responded to the scene and was with her daughter when she noticed the video.
Larson started a Facebook page audi justice, has spoken out about bullying and questioned how or why this happens. She also shared some of her daughter’s assault videos on her page.
“I believe she was targeted because of her size. The girls clearly wanted to fight someone that night, and unfortunately they chose her,” Larson said. said.
She also questioned whether the Thatcher School District had taken sufficient security measures to prevent this type of attack from occurring during school events.
Thatcher plays football at Eastern Arizona College’s John Mickelson Field. According to Chris McBride, EAC’s director of marketing and public relations, the high school “had to contract with the police and hire additional personnel to provide security.”
According to Chief Woods, while Thatcher’s officers were out at the game, while they were still on duty for the town, they were there as a courtesy and sent to the north side in case they had to answer the town’s phone calls. The Thatcher School District inquired about having additional officers at the game, but did not have an officers contract with the school.
“They[Thatcher School District]have always asked us to provide security, and they absolutely will if there are staff available,” said Chief Woods. town), so we always say to them, “Hey, if you go there, I’ll help you as much as I can, but if the city has a call, I’ll go.” Stay away and do our part. ”
Thatcher’s cops are often hired by the EAC for college events, and colleges also have their own police force. But according to Secretary Woods, Thatcher’s officers were not hired as security guards for the high school game, and neither were EACPD officers at the scene. When Thatcher’s officers were informed of the assault, the department received a call to investigate the incident and put the suspect on juvenile probation.
Larson also questioned why an ambulance was not immediately called for her daughter at the scene. I took her to the hospital soon after.
Chief Woods said officers at the scene reported no injuries to the victim and that the victim was on Snapchat. was unaware of the potential seriousness of the assault.
“No ambulance was called at the time, as it did not appear to require medical attention.”
Larson said officers are not the ones to judge the severity of potential injuries and EMS should be contacted immediately. said.
“No one asked her if she needed treatment,” Larson said. “No one asked her if she was hurt. No one asked her if she needed anything. So she had a bad concussion. She did this. You have to go through it and it’s not fair.”
Bullying isn’t just a problem in the Thatcher school district, but throughout the Gila Valley, Larson said.
“I think this is happening in some schools all the time,” Larson said. “And I think it’s because kids are afraid of being retaliated against or they’re afraid to say something – especially when it comes to these girls (suspects). I am asking her for justice for the reasons I am stating and because your children should not be afraid. You shouldn’t be afraid of what will happen to your child when you send them to school, you need to be your child’s voice and she has to go through this so that justice is served. Until I feel it, I will be her voice until the end.
“When will it be enough? It may not be the next time a parent is lucky enough to leave the hospital with their child, take them home, and monitor them all night. This time, A parent may sit next to a child’s bed in a hospital elsewhere to decide whether to make the child an organ donor, or to pull the child off life support due to brain damage. .
