An Akron middle-school girl whose arm was broken during a confrontation with a police officer last fall was accused Wednesday of assaulting a fellow student and a teacher.
Tamika Williams, 14, was arrested at Litchfield middle school, the third district school she has attended this academic year.
According to an Akron police officer’s report, Tamika was yelling and angry while chasing a boy down a hallway about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. At one point, she tossed a binder at the 12-year-old, who ducked away. The boy then ran into a classroom, where he tried to hide behind a female teacher.
Police say Tamika pushed the 55-year-old woman and knocked her to the floor in an effort to get to the boy. Tamika eventually left the classroom and was taken to the principal’s office.
There were no injuries.
School officials would not comment on the incident.
Police have charged Tamika with two counts of juvenile delinquency by reason of assault — one count a felony, the other a misdemeanor. Her status as a student and potential disciplinary sanctions were not clear Wednesday. A family member took the girl home.
The arrest of Tamika comes about a week after an attorney representing the student and her mother shared surveillance video depicting an October confrontation between the girl and Akron police officer Jon Morgan inside Jennings middle school. Tamika suffered a broken arm during the incident.
Eddie Sipplen, an Akron attorney representing the Williams family, said he is gathering information regarding the Litchfield incident.
“Whatever happened still doesn’t diminish the actions of Officer Morgan or change the fact that he broke her arm,” Sipplen said. “We all know that she is a troubled child, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
In the video, Morgan appears to rush the girl, force her against a locker and twist her left arm behind her back. The twisting broke Tamika’s arm.
She had just transferred to Jennings from Innes middle school because of disciplinary issues.
Tamika’s mother, Sandra Williams, filed an excessive-force complaint against Morgan in early November. The investigation is not complete.
During an interview last week about the incident, Sandra Williams questioned why Morgan continued to be assigned as a resource officer at Jennings. A day later, police Chief James Nice and Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James agreed to reassign Morgan until the conclusion of the police investigation.
School officials on Wednesday declined to comment on the incident at Litchfield and referred a reporter to Akron police “or to the parents or attorney of the student involved.” In an email, spokeswoman Sarah Hollander also said: “We take discipline in our schools seriously. Each incident is handled based on the individual facts in each particular case.”
In the Jennings case, Morgan’s report shows that during her first two days at Jennings, Tamika was walking around the school cursing in the hallways and pulling papers off the walls.
Morgan also wrote that he spoke to Tamika in the stairwell just before the incident to tell her how “her juvenile behavior, if continued, could become criminal.” It was then that Morgan alleges the girl “turned into me with her chest, like a chest bump” and with her hands on her hip said, “Now, what are you going to do about it?”
Morgan then writes that he pushed her against the locker and used “an arm lock to gain control and affect the arrest.” At one point, Tamika “tries to pull away from me,” Morgan said.
The girl was not charged with a crime.
Akron police officers are assigned to the district’s 18 middle and high schools to provide security. They are not expected to become involved in school disciplinary issues.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.