A Detroit mother says her young autistic son was assaulted by a teacher's aide at Priest Elementary, and that security video she eventually viewed showed the aide grabbing and hitting the boy. China Hocking says she dropped her son off at the school at around 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 5, only for staff to call her back minutes later to pick him up because he was reportedly kicking.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, the school principal initially told Hocking that her son might have been kicked. Two days later, on Oct. 7, school staff told her that her son had in fact been kicked, while also telling her that cameras did not capture the incident. The conflicting accounts left Hocking pushing for more answers, so she requested to see the security video herself and filed a police report that same day.
Mother Describes Watching the Video
Hocking says she viewed the footage the day after filing her police report, at a location she identified as Western. She told the station that the video showed the teacher's aide grabbing and hitting her son. Describing her reaction, Hocking said, “I cried. I cried. I cried. I walked out the school.”
Hocking said her son, who has autism, asked her, “Are you okay ma?” after witnessing her distress. She says she wants the teacher's aide removed from the school and is seeking accountability for what she describes as an assault on her child. Hocking has also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the security video itself, in addition to her police report.
District Response and Next Steps
The Detroit Public School District said in a statement that it launched an investigation into the incident and removed the employee in question from the building. The district added that it will not return the employee to Priest Elementary and is working with the family to address concerns and support the child.
The district said it is committed to addressing concerns through district procedures, collaborating with families, and protecting student rights. It also said federal privacy laws and personnel confidentiality requirements limit what it can share publicly about the matter, which may complicate how much detail emerges even after Hocking's records request moves forward.
Under the Detroit Public Schools Community District's own public-records rules, the district has five business days to respond to a written FOIA request, according to Detroit Public Schools Community District. The district says it may extend that deadline by up to 10 additional business days if needed, and that requests can be submitted through its online process or by emailing its records office.
Not an Isolated Concern in Michigan Schools
The case echoes other recent incidents involving school staff and student safety in the region. A Huron School District teacher was arrested after officials said she allegedly pushed a student to the ground at Miller Elementary, according to CBS Detroit. That teacher was placed on administrative leave, and police said the student did not sustain significant injuries while indicating they planned to submit child-abuse charges to the prosecutor's office.
In a separate case from 2023, the Detroit school board voted to fire an assistant principal at Pasteur Elementary School who was accused of choking a student, and demoted another administrator for not reporting it promptly, per Chalkbeat Detroit. For now, the specifics of what the Priest Elementary video shows, the employee's identity and disciplinary status, and whether any charges will follow Hocking's police report remain unresolved.
