9-year-old boy suspended for fighting back against a bully
Parents outraged over school's decision
A 9-year-old Colorado boy claims he was suspended from his elementary school after fighting back against a bully who was beating him.
Nathan Pemberton, a third-grader at West Elementary School in Colorado Springs, was suspended Tuesday following a physical altercation with another student, Fox affiliate KDVR-TV reported.
"One kid kicked me in the back, then punched me in the face. Then I punched him in the face and then I got in trouble," the boy told the station.
The boys parents said their son has repeatedly complained of being bullied at school.
"Finally, yeah, we told him, if you have to, if there’s nobody else around, you do what you have to do," said his mother, Deborah Pemberton.
"The school had told us and told him as well, just walk away. Walk away, find a teacher," Pemberton said. "Well, when those things happened, and he did find a teacher, there was hardly any repercussions."
A school released a statement to the station saying that the district has a "no tolerance student discipline policy."
"If a student is involved in a physical altercation on school property, they are automatically suspended," the statement said. "District 11 schools employ many anti-bullying teaching techniques … and none of these methods include violence or retaliation."
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