Brandi Lindon, mother of Jordan, a 12-year-old girl in Colorado says a school administrator ripped some of her daughter’s cornrows out of her head during a incident that took place on December 10th.
Lindon shared her story via Facebook and Instagram. “My 12-year-old daughter was in a physical altercation at Lake Middle School in Denver, Co.,” she writes in a Facebook post. “After I previously came up to the school last Friday for racial discrimination urging teachers to have a meeting with the students. This eventually lead to a fight.”
Details of the fight isn’t clear but Lindon goes on to explain, it was how the fight was broken up that caused the issue. “The Administrator at this school did not break the fight up properly. He grabbed my child by her hair ripping out over 10 braids in her head leaving her bald. He is now on administrative leave,” she writes on Facebook.
She shared before and after pictures to show damage to her daughter’s scalp.According to Yahoo Lifestyle, a medical professional estimated that it may take “six to eight months” for the hair to grow back.
Denver Public Schools responded to the incident by placing the administrator, Travis Glatthar, on leave pending the outcome of the school’s investigation. The middle school sent a letter to families, obtained by Allure, that said they were “investigating the incident.” A representative fro Denver Public Schools shared a statement regarding the incident. “Following a thorough investigation into this matter, we’ve concluded that the basic facts are as follows: Two female students were engaged in a physical altercation. Both students had hands full of each other’s hair during the fracas. The dean intervened and successfully got one student away from the other. The student with the braids then broke away from the dean and reengaged the other student. The dean then grabbed the shirt of the student with braids to hold her back. When the dean grabbed the shirt of the student with the braids after this second engagement, a braid was on that student’s shirt. It is unclear how the braid was pulled off. Nonetheless, the dean took it upon himself to apologize to the student.”
Lindon removed her daughter from Lake Middle School and will pursue pressing charges. “Jordan has her good days and bad. She has been being so strong through it all,” she tells Allure. “She just wants the dean to be held accountable. Overall, I’m happy that our story is being told hopefully that helps us get the justice we deserve.”
