Lawsuit filed over alleged school bus attack

A girl who says her shoulder was separated during an unprovoked attack on a school bus is suing the Spokane school district, the bus company and the family of her alleged attacker.

The lawsuit, filed June 20 in Spokane County Superior Court, alleges that the bus driver stood watching as the victim identified only as JKB was pummeled by another girl, identified only as JLF. It happened the afternoon of Feb. 22, as students were filing onto bus No. 121 at Rogers High School.

“JLF began screaming at JKB and then began punching and slapping JKB in the face and head, pulling, tearing and twisting JKB’s hair, with her friends standing there watching and cheering her on,” the suit alleges.

Trapped in her seat, JKB could do little but swing blindly, the suit says. Then she was thrown to the floor, and felt “a sharp pain in her neck, back and right shoulder.”

A resource officer broke up the fight and noted that JKB’s arm and fingers were turning purple, the suit says. But instead of getting immediate medical treatment, she was reprimanded for fighting, the suit alleges. An ambulance was later called.

In the days following the fight, “JKB was the subject of intense harassment, taunting and teasing at school.”

The lawsuit was filed by Melissa Bradley, who is identified as a “parental guardian” for JKB.

Named as defendants are the district; First Student Inc., which until recently provided busing for the district; JLF; and JLF’s parents.

First Student does not comment on pending lawsuits, said Nicol Jones, spokeswoman for the Cincinnati-based company.

But generally speaking, “Our pupil-management policy directs our drivers in how they ought to handle situations such as this,” Jones said. “It includes not touching the students but also a clear direction for reporting the situation immediately.”

School district officials said through a spokeswoman that they wouldn’t comment about a pending lawsuit. Neither would Bradley’s attorney, George Guinn.