Town to pay student $195K in desk-flipping suit

CAMDEN, N.J. — Gloucester Township is paying a reported $195,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a policeman overturned a boy's desk during a classroom presentation on bullying.

The October 2013 incident at Glen Landing Middle School caused bruises and emotional trauma for the youngster, identified as J.W., and led to teasing by fellow students “so harsh that (the child) had to switch to another school,” the suit says.

It contends Gloucester Township police Sgt. Todd Barton “slammed” the desk onto the floor, striking the boy’s legs, after the child interrupted the uniformed officer’s remarks to a fifth-grade class with “an innocuous comment under his breath.”

In a court document, Barton says he “tilted” the desk onto two legs during a confrontation with the 12-year-old student, then “lost his grip.” He said the desk did not hit the boy as it fell to the floor.

YouTube video shows student assaulting teacher

U.S. District Court Judge Noel Hillman in Camden dismissed the lawsuit on Feb. 16, noting the township had settled with the boy and his mother.

Gloucester Township officials declined to release the settlement, saying it was sealed on the judge’s orders because it included a payment to a minor.

J.W.’s attorney, George Szymanski of Laurel Springs, and Vince Sarubbi, a Haddonfield attorney for the township, did not comment.

But the boy’s mother, Barbara Challender, said Tuesday her son “has not been the same” since the incident.

She said the settlement showed “the importance of proper training to any and all persons who will be entering our children’s schools for any kind of lesson.

“They need to know and be prepared to encounter all types of kids,” said Challender, noting her son previously was diagnosed with behavioral disorders.

“Police officer or not, we cannot afford to lose our tempers with our children,” said Challender, who said the township paid $195,000 to settle the suit. “My son’s rights were violated, and I hope that never happens to anyone else again.”

The lawsuit asserted J.W.’s depression “has worsened severely and his emotional problems have become permanent” because of the officer’s actions.

In his description of the incident, Barton said J.W. “became a distraction in class, repeatedly commenting that he did not want to be there.”

Barton, who was addressing a physical-education class as part of the DARE program, said he told J.W. to go to the principal’s office, but the boy stayed at his desk.

“After significant back and forth, Sgt. Barton approached J.W.’s desk and tilted it up onto two of its four legs,” says the officer’s account. It asserts Barton “lost his grip on the desk and the remaining legs slid out and the desk fell straight down.”

Barton's account says the boy then “grabbed his books and immediately went to the principal’s office," and the officer resumed his lecture.

Follow Jim Walsh on Twitter: @jimwalsh_cp