Family of Vance student who was body-slammed wants felony charges against SRO, assistant principal

The family of a Vance County student who was body-slammed last month by a school resource officer demanded Tuesday that the officer face felony charges in the attack and that an assistant principal likewise be charged in an assault on a second student.

"We're not going nowhere until justice is done with these two cases," said Rev. John Miles, the grandfather of the 11-year-old boy who was picked up and thrown to the floor by a resource officer at Vance County Middle School on Dec. 12.

The SRO, Warren Durham, was subsequently fired and charged with assault on a child under 12, misdemeanor child abuse and willful failure to discharge his duties.

District Attorney Mike Waters said last month that he could charge Durham only with misdemeanors because the boy's injuries weren't serious enough – he didn't suffer any broken bones or a concussion – to pursue any felony charges.

But Miles said Tuesday that physicians at Duke University Hospital and his grandson's primary care doctor have diagnosed that the boy suffered a concussion, and Miles said he has the medical records to prove it.

He's also pressing for charges against Assistant Principal Kevin Ross, who was suspended after a security video showed him manhandling a 12-year-old girl at Vance County Middle on the same day.

Miles said the girl suffered a dislocated shoulder and could go deaf in her left ear.

No criminal charges have been filed against Ross.

"It's not fair that our kids are being attacked in school and nobody's held accountable," Miles said. "We're really not asking, we're demanding that the DA do his job."

Waters said his office received additional documents Monday and is reviewing the video. Both cases remain under investigation to see if further charges are warranted, he said.

Miles and family friend Shaka Shakur said four other families have told them of other students being assaulted at Vance County Middle and that students have been threatened with suspension if they discuss problems at the school.

"It could be a string or a cycle or systematic abuse going on in the school," Shakur said.

Miles said neither his grandson nor the 12-year-old girl plan to return to the school.

"You've got two kids being fearful right now about what has happened. Our lives will never be the same. Our lives will never be the same," he said.