Fight between Bus Driver, Boys Caught On Tape


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A friend sent me a heads up on this article.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- The mother of two boys whose fight with a substitute school bus driver was captured on videotape has questioned why the boys are charged with a felony while the driver faces a less serious charge.

Sherri Shaw said Monday that she's not satisfied with the punishment facing driver Albert Taylor. He has been charged with misdemeanor battery and could spend a year in jail if convicted.

Mark Ernest Dickinson, 15, and his stepbrother, Corey Gene Hendershot, 13, were arrested last week and charged with assault on a school official, a felony punishable by up to five years in a juvenile justice facility, said Russell Kirshy, the family's attorney.

A bus security camera videotape of the fight has been played extensively on national television.

According to Charlotte County sheriff's reports, the fight happened Tuesday when Taylor tried to put a seat belt on Hendershot, who refused to wear it. He then told Hendershot to sit up front, but the boy refused.

When Taylor walked to the back of the bus, Dickinson got in his way and cursed at him. Taylor then slapped Dickinson and grabbed his throat, the video shows. Dickinson is seen pushing and punching the 66-year-old bus driver.

The boys' father, David Shaw, said the older teen felt he was protecting his younger brother. The father acknowledged that the boys could have been calmer, but said the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Taylor has been suspended without pay.

A number listed for an Albert Taylor in the area was disconnected and he could not be reached for comment Monday.

Florida began requiring all new school buses to have seat belts in 1999, but wearing them is not a requirement.

Source

Watch the video. It's just shocking.

Normally you'd think it's the kids' fault, but I think not. Sure, he's probably a smartass for cursing at the driver, but that doesn't justify his violent action of choking the hell out of him. And to note that those two get some serious punishment that's more severe than the driver - amazing. :no:

This kind of reminds me of that NY teen that had his chair pulled from him. :pinch:

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only in America :no:

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I kinda hate how the craziest stuff happens there :no:

But nevertheless let's keep country bashing out of this.

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I can't believe the driver is only being charged a misdemeanor while the kids are being charged with a felony. I think that the driver should be in more trouble than the kids, no matter who started it, he's an adult and should show some restraint.

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Regardless of whether or not the kids struck the bus driver, the bus driver made the first assault on one of the boys. The boys clearly were defending themselves. There is also an age barrier here, an adult should know better not to assault a child. If I were the kid, I would have beat that drivers ass and made it worth my while.

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Dude, that bus driver should be shot.

He started it.

I don't believe what the news report says ... those boys were being attacked ... NOT the other way around !!!!

I would SUE.

P.S. Poor 66 year old bus driver ... (That dude looks as if he is a ****ing body builder)

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I agree with the bus driver. That 15 year old boy had no reason for getting up and standing behind that bus driver. The younger boy should have listened to the bus driver and went to the front of the bus. It's as simple as that.

The bus driver was 66 YEARS OLD! Not 35 or 25. What happened to respect. He didn't do anything to deserve having that kid from the back yapping his mouth and then when he goes back there the "tough" 15 year old jumps right behind the bus driver. Maybe the bus driver felt threatened.

I hope the kids get a nice punishment. Sooner or later I hope kids start getting punished for things they do and not looking for excuses like every case in the news in the past few years. I wish parents would make their kids accept responsibility

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wow...what the hell?....jezz have a little bit of self control...they're damn kids, even if they were being a smart ass, didn't had to go and try to kill'em...:no:

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I agree with the bus driver.  That 15 year old boy had no reason for getting up and standing behind that bus driver.  The younger boy should have listened to the bus driver and went to the front of the bus.  It's as simple as that. 

The bus driver was 66 YEARS OLD!  Not 35 or 25.  What happened to respect.  He didn't do anything to deserve having that kid from the back yapping his mouth and then when he goes back there the "tough" 15 year old jumps right behind the bus driver.  Maybe the bus driver felt threatened. 

I hope the kids get a nice punishment.  Sooner or later I hope kids start getting punished for things they do and not looking for excuses like every case in the news in the past few years.  I wish parents would make their kids accept responsibility

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Understand that there's violence involved in this. I don't give a rat's ass on how old the driver is. He used violence to 'restrain' the kids, he should face a more serious charge.

Also note that this is over a silly argument on wearing seat belts. Here the school buses DON'T have seat belts, and I find that perfectly fine. And it said right there, "but wearing them is not a requirement." If it's not a requirement, why bother forcing the kid to wear it?

The bus driver also called for help on his radio. He should've sat his ass in his seat and waited for help to arrive instead of attacking the kid.

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I kinda hate how the craziest stuff happens there :no:

But nevertheless let's keep country bashing out of this.

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Sorry it wasn't mean t to be a country bash....it's just a saying. Sorry to confuse.

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Well, I'm gonna agree that the kids need punishment, HOWEVER, that is absolutely asinine that the bus driver is facing lesser charges. You would think that being older he could have the maturity level to be able to keep his hands off little kids that are half his size. There is absolutely no reason in hell that he should think he has the right to physically force the children to do anything, if they don't do something, you kick them off the bus, that is ALL he is allowed to do. And not only did he try to physically force them to obey, he was choking the kid! That is inexcusable.

It blows my mind that he is getting off so easily. I'm not one to go running around saying I'm going to sue people, but if I were the parents, I'd have the best lawyer I could find standing next to me right now, although I don't think it really requires much of a lawyer to get this one taken care of, it's pretty obvious that the physical violence was started by the bus driver, and not the kids. They aren't his kids, he doesn't get to punish them. Ridiculous

Edit: On a lighter note, I find it quite humorous that the person saying "Only in America" is from America, and all of the people yelling at him to stop bashing America, are from other countries :laugh:

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bus driver should go to jail. that is assault

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Actually it would be battery.

Cody

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Edit: On a lighter note, I find it quite humorous that the person saying "Only in America" is from America, and all of the people yelling at him to stop bashing America, are from other countries :laugh:

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LOL. Well personally I would want to bash the US as well for a number of reasons, but I hate flame wars. :)

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I'm from NYC, so I never took a bus to school. Can a bus driver kick a kid off the bus? Make them walk home? Or would they get in trouble for that?

EDIT: Isn't it a felony because he works for the school? I mean, assaulting a teacher or a school employee has a harsher punishment than a regular person I would assume.

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I'm with the bus driver, if you had some 15 year old rushing you from behind you would do the same thing.

edit: the bus driver shoulda ran the bus off of a cliff, it would do us all some good. those are the type of kids that threaten to call the cops when their parents try to discipline them, be it physical or just a simple grounding. I'd put a cigarette out in the kids eyes.

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What the bus driver did was wrong, but the kids ignited it. Heck, if some kid did that to me, I would slap them too. But his problem is that he cannot control his actions.

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It totally looks to me like the driver just lost it. Kids will be kids, and adults are supposed to show the restraint that some juveniles just aren't capable of.

Yeah the kids were in the wrong as well, but the driver should have kept his nerve.

Dougal.

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I'm with the bus driver, if you had some 15 year old rushing you from behind you would do the same thing.

edit:  the bus driver shoulda ran the bus off of a cliff, it would do us all some good.  those are the type of kids that threaten to call the cops when their parents try to discipline them, be it physical or just a simple grounding.  I'd put a cigarette out in the kids eyes.

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I agree...xept the cigarette

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They had a rule in the system that I went through K-8, where if you caused problems on the bus you were banished from taking the bus for the remainder of the school year- no exceptions. That would have been the perfect punishment in this case, assuming that the bus driver kept his cool.

Btw, it's an automatic felony in Florida to strike a school official- the bus driver is a school official. In light of the video evidence, I think that cooler heads should prevail and the felony charges be reduced to misdeanors (no need to give kids that age strike 1 for this): the bus driver should lose his job, nothing more (or less).

The mother of these two smart mouthed inbreds should teach her kids to show more respect, and not to run their mouths at those charged with keeping them safe.

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this is typical of a kid that likes to insult,i think that this hate against the kid was stocked for long,i'm with the driver.i think the kids have no dicipline,and hassle him all the time.

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i dont care if there is a kid standing there, screaming, cussing being uncooperative that is no reason to strike the child. the bus driver struck the kid before any of the kids touched the driver. driver should be charged with agrivated battery against a minor. the kids should be disaplined by there parents. maybe grounded for a week for not doing what they where suposed to. but felony? they where fighting BACK, not startng it.

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