Plano police and the Plano Independent School District are investigating disturbing allegations of bullying against a young student, who says he was forced by classmates to drink urine.
Activists are calling for the case to be investigated as a federal hate crime.
The alleged incident happened in mid-February during an off-campus sleepover.
The mother of the alleged victim spoke publicly Friday afternoon about her fight, she says, to expose relentless bullying within the Plano school district.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Summer Smith held a press conference Friday after she met with Plano police Chief Ed Drain at police headquarters.
She said she took to social media to post a disturbing cell phone video that showed her son being abused only after her calls for justice were ignored by school officials.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
At least one of the cellphone videos has been widely shared among youth, she said.
“I couldn’t watch the video at first,” she said. “Then I said, 'People need to see this.' If they can share it around, we’re going to take it and I want everyone to see what they thought was funny.”
Smith claimed her 13-year-old son had been bullied by classmates and teammates at Haggard Middle School for over a year and no action had been taken.
The harassment, she said, culminated in mid-February when her son had been befriended by a boy at school and invited to a sleepover.
Smith said she inquired about who was going to be attended the sleepover, but neither she nor her son were aware that his bullies were going to show up during the weekend birthday party.
She said one night, her son was coerced by the group of boys into drinking urine from a plastic cup.
“They woke him up out of his sleep and said, 'You stopped breathing! You got to drink this,'” she alleges. “How horrible must you be? This is not a prank. This is beyond bullying. You are evil. They are evil.”
She claimed her son was also physically abused that weekend and called the N-word by his white classmates and teammates.
Smith said she reported the incident to school officials but was told there was nothing they could do about the off-campus incident.
A police report was filed this week with Plano Police Department. Smith and her son met with Drain Friday afternoon.
The department said it would investigate any possible crimes committed during and before the incident.
“They threatened him not to tell,” said Smith looking at her son. “I am so proud of you. I am so proud of you. Thank you for telling me because this has got to stop. And this is going to end with him.”
The police chief and mayor declined an interview request today.
Local activists and the family’s attorney demanded the boys involved be expelled from school and that the incident be investigated by the FBI as a hate crime.
The Collin County chapter of the NAACP released a statement to NBC 5, which reads in part:
"We are deeply concerned about the allegations involving a student at Haggard Middle School in Plano, Texas. Our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of the child. President June Jenkins has met with the student’s mother to begin our initial investigation and has engaged in conversation of the Plano Police Chief Ed Drain. We look forward to receiving the results of the investigation."
