SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Police Department has released a video that purports to show the incident that occurred on the playground at Kenwood Elementary in mid-February in which black students are accused of forcing white students to say “Black Lives Matter.”
Watch the video as Center 7′s Brandon Lewis describes the Feb. 10 incident that touched off a police investigation of a group of black students accused of assaulting white students while forcing them to utter the phrase.
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Thursday, Springfield City School District officials reacted to the video, which the police department released as its investigation of the incident ended. District officials said they were notified about the video’s release on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
There has been no word whether the department has filed or will file charges.
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the District from disclosing personally identifiable information or details about the discipline of a child to anyone other than their parent or guardian,” the district’s statement reads.
“As it relates to this incident concerning participants and staff involved, the Springfield City School District followed appropriate procedures in accordance with Board Policy.
“Moving forward from this experience, the District is working closely with counselors, mental health experts and multiple community partners and agencies to provide support to children and staff directly involved, as well as those not directly involved. The District will use this experience as an opportunity to strive for greater acceptance, grow and reinforce community connections.”
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