Boy bullied in Gig Harbor as teacher watches

BY Chris Sullivan  on August 29, 2012 @ 5:20 am (Updated: 8:32 am - 8/30/12 )

The parents of a Gig Harbor boy have asked for a criminal investigation after their son was terrorized in a bullying attack in his classroom at Kopachuck Middle School.

The incident happened in February and was captured on video. The then-eighth grade boy was held down and put under chairs while classmates drew on his feet and stuffed his socks in his mouth, all while the teacher was watching.

The teacher, John Rosi, even joined in by poking the boy in the stomach.

The school district said when they learned of the incident, they immediately put the teacher on administrative leave.

Officials watched the video in its entirety, and talked to students in the classroom, the victim and his parents to understand the full scope of the story.

"The teacher lost control of his classroom," said Peninsula School District Acting Superintendent Charles Cuzzetto.

In school records obtained by The News Tribune, Rosi said he considered the actions normal horseplay and kids blowing off steam.

Rosi was reportedly suspended for 10 days and shipped to another school, but he did not lose his job.

The boy's parents say that's not good enough, and have asked police to look into the case.

The Pierce County sheriff's office is now investigating.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (46)


  • Add A Comment

  • O-town listener wrote...
    come on union..
    August 29, 2012 6:52 am
    let em fire this jackhole.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    hm...
    August 29, 2012 6:55 am
    just watched the video.

    there was NO struggle. "held down by chairs?" if that kid had wanted to, he could have easily got up. some of the "bullies" were giggling little girls. the boys weren't calling names, being violent. and when they were so EVIL as to "draw on his feet" it looked more like it tickled, there was practically NO force to anything that was going on.

    that being said, should the teacher let the kids run the classroom like that? NO. absolutely. BUT, i don't see years of psycological damage done by ANYTHING you can see in that video.

    the parents are reaching and looking for a pay day, in my opinion.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • newsguysully wrote...
    Oly80...from the newsroom
    August 29, 2012 7:35 am
    This video only shows 35 seconds of 15 minutes worth of video. We are trying to get the entire video so we can post it. Further descriptions are coming from the parents in the Tribune.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GH stay at home mom wrote...
    enough
    August 29, 2012 10:29 am
    we do not need to see any more, the child does not need this attention right before school starts!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hectic wrote...
    Oly80
    August 29, 2012 8:51 am
    You don't get, bullying is exactly what you just described. It's not always the football jock stuffing a kid in a locker; that's why it has gotten this bad, because people like you think it's no big deal. Trying putting yourself in the kid's place; he was obviously traumatized enough to change schools.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    if you read the story...
    August 29, 2012 9:32 am
    from BOTH websites, the kid didn't even complain about this. the admins discovered it when kids were watching it on their phones and laughing.

    the room was full of laughter. didn't hear the boy protesting once. IN FACT, i believe i heard HIM laughing as well.

    by the way, i HAVE been in that boy's place. i've been both stuffed into lockers AND just the main attraction in a little bit of nonsense fun.

    1. you don't know the whole story, we all don't, but try reading ALL the sources (especially the one that really reported this first and more completely). 2. i understand that this isn't the whole video, but it doesn't show crazy, wild, out of control bullying. it shows a bunch of kids in a poorly managed classroom goofing off.

    i'll wait to hear from the other students, maybe before saying this kid was bullied. you need to hear BOTH sides. THEY probably thought it was harmless fun as well, if you know definitions of bullying, that's not one of them.

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  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    Regardless of the exact facts here.
    August 29, 2012 7:33 am
    It still remains that 95% of teachers are abject wussies and pacifists, so why would we ever expect them to stand up to all those scary kids! Because as we are reminded every time a contract expires it becomes 'all about the children'.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sean wrote...
    Yesm Chrism, we need more evidence
    August 29, 2012 7:59 am
    This is very inconclusive, and we've all seen kids who will endure a mild degree of "physical teasing" just for the attention. Nothing here shows anything either way, to me. But I'd have SERIOUS questions about a teacher who lets cr4p like this go on for FIFTEEN MINUTES while kids are supposed to be learning. Is this what public schools do? Next time teachers are going for a raise, I'd have to think that this "babysitter" isn't going to be helping their cause at all.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Denco25 wrote...
    Fire His Butt
    August 29, 2012 8:19 am
    The teacher was repeorted to have put his butt in close proximity to the boy's face and made an inappropriate remark about passing gas. And for this he gets paid over $64K a year? And, worse yet, the school district keeps him on? this is why citizens have come to have so little regard and respect for the leadership of our schools and why so many now vote a resounding "No" on bonds and levies. It's the only real way we have to show our displeasure.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pugwamp wrote...
    Are you serious Oly??
    August 29, 2012 8:24 am
    This isn't as heinous a crime as rape, but by your rationale you are saying that if a woman doesn't struggle then she must not really be getting raped. If an entire class is in on the hazing then what's a kid to do? Ask the teacher to stop it?? The idiot teacher was right in the thick of things!! I've been on the short end of this kind of thing when I was a kid and getting mad and fighting back only fuels the fire when a group of kids are involved. They fall into a pack mentality. Someone tell me how being suspended for 10 das without pay is a justifiable alternative to being dismissed. This idiot s/b fired.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    WOAH...
    August 29, 2012 9:35 am
    pug, you're going WAY too far with your assoications to make your point.

    the two are NOT even CLOSE to the same.

    YOU still don't know all the facts. and the fact that this went on for 15 minutes means there might be WORSE that would look more like actual bullying, and that there might not be anything that looks more like bullying that what was posted.

    how about you not sensationalize to make your arguments stronger, though. that's pretty cheap.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pugwamp wrote...
    Sorry Oly!!!
    August 29, 2012 12:31 pm
    Going way too far to make my point is what I do! That's why I rarely comment. I don't mean to minimize rape nor assume that you do, but my point was to emphasize that just because someone doesn't complain or fight back doesn't mean they don't really like what's going on and wish it would stop. We can call it whatever we want, but I think we should all be able to agree that this was totally inappropriate behavior in a school setting. I still think the teacher s/b fired. As has been pointed out in other posts there are A LOT of qualified teachers who deserve that job.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    ALSO...
    August 29, 2012 9:37 am
    i did say that the teacher was out of line. sure. fire him. i never said he was right. so, again, you need to back off the over the top comparison to rape.

    seriously, what's wrong with you? who would ever say that rape is okay?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Media!! Back it down a couple of clicks !!
    August 29, 2012 8:30 am
    " terrorized in a bullying attack in his classroom at Kopachuck Middle School". You guys just have to put the trendy news words and phrases on anything now dont you? Terrorized, Bullying, Attack..? They way this story was presented you made it read like the kids were a bunch of middle east crazys flying a plane into a building full of handicapped children.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GH stay at home mom wrote...
    bullying defined
    August 29, 2012 10:32 am
    "Harassment, intimidation or bullying" means any intentional written, verbal, or physical act, including but not limited to one shown to be motivated by any characteristic in RCW 9A.36.080(3), (race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or mental or physical disability), or other distinguishing characteristics, when the act: Physically harms a student or damages the student's property Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's education Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating or threatening educational environment Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    so...
    August 29, 2012 11:13 am
    by your posting of the definition, did you see what you defined? maybe that last part that was pasted on, but i feel like there's more to it than that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GH stay at home mom wrote...
    bullying of any sort is not tolerated and should be treated as such
    August 29, 2012 11:38 am
    Here is a list of things that you should report: Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting, hair pulling or throwing something at the targeted student(s) Getting another person to hit or harm the targeted student(s) Teasing, name calling, making critical remarks or threatening in person, by phone, by e-mail, etc. Putting the targeted student(s) down and making the targeted student(s) a subject of jokes Making rude and/or threatening gestures Excluding or rejecting the targeted student(s) Making the targeted student(s) fearful, demanding money or exploiting Spreading harmful rumors or gossip Cyber bullying (bullying by calling, texting, emailing, web posting, etc.) meaning it was reported the way that it was because it was a child being attacked and terrorized by bullying.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • suzh wrote...
    Teacher
    August 29, 2012 8:57 am
    Playing devil's advocate here - if this teacher had done something like pulling these kids off of one another, he'd likely get sued by the 'bullies' parents for laying a hand on them. The teacher's union is clearly a problem in keeping problem teacher, but teacher's are really caught in the middle. They are expected to be the school police, do the parenting, deal with children who don't speak english, children from broken homes, etc etc etc. AND they are supposed to keep test scores up. So . . . ignore the bulling (and get sued by the parent) or step in (and get sued by the bully's parents). Last I saw, they just want to teach.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • suzh wrote...
    Teacher - forgot to add
    August 29, 2012 8:59 am
    However, forgot to add: if this teacher really did participate in the teasing, then he should be fired.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mc724 wrote...
    teacher is lucky
    August 29, 2012 9:17 am
    This teacher is lucky, because if that was my son, he would be happy to get fired. I would kick this teachers butt from one side of the classroom to the other. This guy needs to be fired and have his teaching certificate revoked ASAP! What is wrong with human beings today?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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