LAKEWOOD, Wash. — A 10-year-old Lakewood student says the bus driver grabbed him and wouldn't let him get off the bus.
The incident happened on Thursday on the way home from Tillicum Elementary School in the Clover Park School District.
Jamall told KIRO-7 he got in trouble for standing up while the bus was moving. He said his backpack slid under the seat so he went to get it. He said the bus driver told him he broke the rules and would have to stay on the bus and return to the school.
Jamall said he knew his mom was at home and didn't have a car to go pick him up so when they got to his stop he walked to the front of the bus to leave.
That's when he says the driver, who was a substitute, grabbed him and tried not to let him off the bus.
When he got home he told his mom. Janita Hammond, called police and the Clover Park School District.
The district employee who acted as a substitute bus driver on Thursday is not driving students during the district's investigation. The Clover Park School District issued a statement Friday afternoon:
"First and foremost, we take our responsibility to safely transport students to and from school seriously.
"We have procedures, expectations and responsibilities in place for drivers and students to maintain a safe and civil bus environment.
"We were made aware of an interaction on yesterday’s afternoon route between a staff member serving as a substitute bus driver and a student when students were exiting the bus. We are investigating and working with the family to address the issue.
"The staff member will not be driving bus routes while we complete the investigation. We have also been made aware the parent has made a police report and are fully cooperating with its investigation.
"The district is cooperating with the Lakewood Police Department as it investigates the incident."
On KIRO 7 News at 7, Alison Grande talked to Jamall and his mom and reached out to the Clover Park School District and Lakewood Police Department. Watch on TV or here.
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