Saline police seek charges against 7 elementary students in playground assault

He was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center and was released later that day.

“We’ve talked to just about everyone involved and submitted the case for review with prosecutors on the possibility of charges in juvenile court,” Saline Police Chief Paul Bunten said. 

All of the boys involved are either 11 or 12 years old. 

Reports indicate the victim was play fighting with another student near a playground structure during the lunch recess when another classmate walked by and may have used a racial slur. The victim and one of the alleged assailants are black.

The assault occurred outside Heritage School in Saline.

A different student then approached the victim, yanked off the headband he was wearing and ran off, refusing to give it back, reports said.

The victim chased him into the nearby soccer field, where he was quickly surrounded by other students. They allegedly threw a ball at him and pushed him down from behind. He remembered being kicked repeatedly, including once in the back of his head and neck, reports said.

An adult volunteer supervising the playground intervened and ordered the boys to go to the principal’s office while tending to the victim.

One of the students involved also told police a few classmates made fun of the boy’s headband earlier in the day and harassed him by snapping it repeatedly.

The victim told police at least one of the boys involved had bullied him about a week earlier and made racially-charged comments toward him, including calling him “slave.”

That boy told investigators the victim was often hyper and bit him during a basketball game on the playground, which was reported to school officials. He also said he pushed the victim because the boy was trying to pull down a friend’s shorts. He said the victim then began throwing rocks, striking the alleged assailant in the arm and hand, reports said.

None of the other students confirmed the victim threw anything or that the boys made derogatory statements about the victim’s race.

Reports indicate more than one student told police the assault was planned during the lunch portion of the hour, and they purposely surrounded the boy on the field to block an adult’s view.

A parent of one of the accused boys declined an investigator’s request for an interview. Some of the boys have already contacted defense attorneys, police said.

All the boys facing potential charges were disciplined by school officials.

The potential use of any racial slurs is a concern, school district spokesman Steve Laatsch said, but he does not believe race was an underlying factor in the incident. 

The issue, as well as other safety concerns recently voiced by parents in the district, will be discussed at a community forum starting at 6:30 p.m. May 17 in the Pleasant Ridge Elementary School cafeteria.

Laatsch, who will lead the forum, said participants will get information about current safety procedures and practices, and will then split into smaller groups focused on specific topics, such as bullying and health concerns.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.