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Schools

Boy, 5, says bus driver taped his mouth

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office investigates after a Dunedin Elementary student tells his parents the driver used duct tape.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published December 14, 2005

DUNEDIN - When he got home from kindergarten on Monday, 5-year-old Kyle Gerber had a stunning story for his parents.

The bus driver, he said, taped his mouth shut with duct tape on the ride home from Dunedin Elementary School.

Kyle's parents responded by calling the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which has opened an investigation.

Both the driver, who has been temporarily assigned to another route, and the adult aide on the bus could face termination, a school official said.

"If the allegations are substantiated, it is a clear violation of our policy," Pinellas County schools spokesman Sterling Ivey said. "As far as we're concerned, the nature of the incident is inappropriate touching or handling of a student."

This is at least the sixth incident in 14 months in which the safety or treatment of Pinellas County students has been called into question.

Last year, two students were hit and killed by cars after bus drivers let them off on the wrong side of busy streets. Another student was hit by a car and seriously hurt after he ran out of his school.

This year, police handcuffed two other students, one aboard a bus.

Monday's incident angered Kyle's father, Steve Gerber of Dunedin.

"We were just beside ourselves last night finding out about this," Gerber told WFTS-Ch. 28. "That someone in an authority position on a bus, a driver or whatnot, would do that to a young child."

He added that his son, while precocious, is well-behaved.

"Yes, he talks and he likes to find out about things and be involved with things and people," Gerber told Ch. 28. "But other than that, he's just a normal 5-year-old starting kindergarten."

Ivey said he did not know of serious problems with the boy during previous bus rides.

"I am not aware of any specific disciplinary actions taken in the past," he said. "I do know that the aide who rides the bus has had to sit with this child on some trips because of the child's behavior."

Ivey did not release the name or work history of the driver in question. The driver completed the same route Tuesday morning before being given another assignment in the afternoon.

The aide, who will not ride Gerber's route during the sheriff's investigation, was not identified.

The bus' video surveillance camera had been removed about five days ago for maintenance, so there is no footage of the alleged incident, Ivey said.

Duct tape is not a standard item on buses, but it's not uncommon for drivers to have it to post signs on the bus, Ivey said.

Sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen provided few details about the case late Tuesday, citing an ongoing investigation.

"We are aware of the incident and we are conducting an investigation," he said.

School officials will wait for the completion of the sheriff's investigation before undertaking their own review, Ivey said.

"Whether a bus driver or a teacher or a lunchroom worker, if you improperly touch a child, the district loses trust in your ability to carry out your job," Ivey said.

The latest allegation comes after a Nov. 11 incident in which a St. Petersburg police officer handcuffed a 13-year-old Clearwater girl aboard a bus.

That incident was taped, showing Officer Roberto Rolon boarding the bus along a Safety Harbor roadside after a student threw a hard object, believed to be a golf ball, out a window.

The tape later shows Rolon approaching a girl and twisting her arm behind her back and marching her to the front of the bus as he says, "I don't play. ... I don't play."

An internal investigation at the St. Petersburg Police Department has begun into that case. The girl, Safety Harbor Middle School student Ashley Marie Mitchell, will not be charged, prosecutors said last week.

Times researcher Carolyn Edds and Times staff writer Robin Stein contributed to this report. Jacob H. Fries can be reached at jfries@sptimes.com or 727 445-4156.

[Last modified December 14, 2005, 00:15:15]