Since the earlier thread went a bit off topic - here is a new one with the update. No apology from the school board and they had the balls to send a letter (without any consultation or proper due dilligence) to the parents stating that the kid was going to be kicked out of school.
York chief urges crown to drop charges in school fight
The Canadian Press
KESWICK – A proper investigation would have spared a 15-year-old student from trouble with the law and threats of expulsion following a fight with a classmate that was triggered in part by a racial slur, police conceded today as they updated a case that's attracted international attention.
The Korean-born student's story made headlines after hundreds of his classmates in Keswick, Ont., staged a walkout to protest that the Grade 9 student was the only one charged in the fight on school property on April 21.
He was charged with assault causing bodily harm for breaking his classmate's nose, even though he claimed self-defence and did not throw the first punch. It was also alleged the incident had been instigated by a racial slur.
York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge admitted at a packed news conference that he ordered a review of the case because of the student protest, and the subsequent investigation revealed police were too hasty in laying the charge, which he has asked the Crown to withdraw.
"I'm confident had that full investigation been done at the onset, we would have never found ourselves at (court)," La Barge said.
"We would have consulted with the Crown and the Crown might have suggested ... some type of mediation between the two as opposed to bringing them into the criminal justice system."
The made-for-Hollywood tale of a quiet honours student who was lionized by classmates after knocking out a racist schoolyard bully with a single punch got somewhat embellished along the way, La Barge said.
It wasn't a case of race-motivated bullying and was actually a typical example of "youthful exuberance" after an intense testosterone-fuelled competition in gym class, he said.
"Both parties were willing to be physical with each other – during and after the game – resulting in pushing and shoving and swearing and eventually punching," he said.
A racist comment was made, but there's no evidence the Korean student had ever been bullied in the past or was a repeated victim of racism, La Barge said.
While the comment was an instigating factor in the fight, it did not warrant any additional charges since "uttering a racial slur isn't unto itself an offence," he said.
Nor should the Korean student have been charged at all, he added.
"If one accepts the fact that there was no intent to commit serious bodily harm in this case – and I do – then what we are left with is a consensual fight between two 15-year-old boys after a turbulent contact-sporting activity," La Barge said.
"Both boys, I am told, are good students and both boys have never had any disciplinary issues before."
He added that both teens were immediately sorry that things got out of hand. The boy who had his nose broken told police he was sorry for throwing the first punch and saying what he said, and he didn't want to lay charges that might threaten the other boy's future.
La Barge said he's never heard more from the public about a case in his 36 years in policing and understands the worldwide outrage, even if the story wasn't completely accurate when it was first reported.
"I've received feedback from as far as Australia, I've received feedback from all across Canada," La Barge said.
"What it tells me is people care about bullying, people care about racism, people care about our school systems and people care about our community, and they're keenly interested in ensuring those things don't happen in our community, or if they are happening, they don't go unchecked. And we equally care."
The parents of the Korean boy, who cannot be named, said they're satisfied with the outcome, though they still await word from the Crown.
But the family's lawyer Paul Koven said he remains disappointed with the conduct of the school, which recommended the boy be expelled before eventually backtracking.
Koven said it's unfair that his client had to be victimized and become a case study for school officials and police.
And he wonders how the story might have ended had it not drawn so much attention.
"There's always an ongoing concern as to what happens to the next child who finds themselves in the same circumstance," he said.
"What happens when the students don't protest? What happens when the media don't run with the story? What happens when there's no lawyers involved to hold parties accountable to the letter of the law?"
York chief urges crown to drop charges in school fight
The Canadian Press
KESWICK – A proper investigation would have spared a 15-year-old student from trouble with the law and threats of expulsion following a fight with a classmate that was triggered in part by a racial slur, police conceded today as they updated a case that's attracted international attention.
The Korean-born student's story made headlines after hundreds of his classmates in Keswick, Ont., staged a walkout to protest that the Grade 9 student was the only one charged in the fight on school property on April 21.
He was charged with assault causing bodily harm for breaking his classmate's nose, even though he claimed self-defence and did not throw the first punch. It was also alleged the incident had been instigated by a racial slur.
York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge admitted at a packed news conference that he ordered a review of the case because of the student protest, and the subsequent investigation revealed police were too hasty in laying the charge, which he has asked the Crown to withdraw.
"I'm confident had that full investigation been done at the onset, we would have never found ourselves at (court)," La Barge said.
"We would have consulted with the Crown and the Crown might have suggested ... some type of mediation between the two as opposed to bringing them into the criminal justice system."
The made-for-Hollywood tale of a quiet honours student who was lionized by classmates after knocking out a racist schoolyard bully with a single punch got somewhat embellished along the way, La Barge said.
It wasn't a case of race-motivated bullying and was actually a typical example of "youthful exuberance" after an intense testosterone-fuelled competition in gym class, he said.
"Both parties were willing to be physical with each other – during and after the game – resulting in pushing and shoving and swearing and eventually punching," he said.
A racist comment was made, but there's no evidence the Korean student had ever been bullied in the past or was a repeated victim of racism, La Barge said.
While the comment was an instigating factor in the fight, it did not warrant any additional charges since "uttering a racial slur isn't unto itself an offence," he said.
Nor should the Korean student have been charged at all, he added.
"If one accepts the fact that there was no intent to commit serious bodily harm in this case – and I do – then what we are left with is a consensual fight between two 15-year-old boys after a turbulent contact-sporting activity," La Barge said.
"Both boys, I am told, are good students and both boys have never had any disciplinary issues before."
He added that both teens were immediately sorry that things got out of hand. The boy who had his nose broken told police he was sorry for throwing the first punch and saying what he said, and he didn't want to lay charges that might threaten the other boy's future.
La Barge said he's never heard more from the public about a case in his 36 years in policing and understands the worldwide outrage, even if the story wasn't completely accurate when it was first reported.
"I've received feedback from as far as Australia, I've received feedback from all across Canada," La Barge said.
"What it tells me is people care about bullying, people care about racism, people care about our school systems and people care about our community, and they're keenly interested in ensuring those things don't happen in our community, or if they are happening, they don't go unchecked. And we equally care."
The parents of the Korean boy, who cannot be named, said they're satisfied with the outcome, though they still await word from the Crown.
But the family's lawyer Paul Koven said he remains disappointed with the conduct of the school, which recommended the boy be expelled before eventually backtracking.
Koven said it's unfair that his client had to be victimized and become a case study for school officials and police.
And he wonders how the story might have ended had it not drawn so much attention.
"There's always an ongoing concern as to what happens to the next child who finds themselves in the same circumstance," he said.
"What happens when the students don't protest? What happens when the media don't run with the story? What happens when there's no lawyers involved to hold parties accountable to the letter of the law?"
