Cy-Fair ISD student dies after incident involving behavioral specialist at Carlton Center

CYPRESS, Texas - A behavioral specialist is facing charges after a student died during an incident at Carlton Center last week, court documents stated. 

According to court records, Donald Perkins, 50, is charged with injury to a disabled individual. 

What we know:

According to court documents, officials were called out to the Carlton Pre-Vocational Center in Cypress around 8 a.m. on April 23 to investigate a serious medical emergency involving a student.

Court records stated that the Carlton Center is a specialized school for students with disabilities within Cy-Fair ISD. 

Authorities said they learned after talking with the student's parents that the student was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a very young age, and he is essentially non-verbal in his daily life. 

When officials arrived at the school, the student had already been taken via ambulance to Memorial Hermann-Cypress Hospital. 

The officer who responded then spoke with the school's assistant principal, school nurse, and behavioral specialist, identified as Perkins. 

Court documents stated Perkins reported to authorities that he was summoned to a bus containing the student because the student had taken a piece of food from the bus driver and shoved it in his mouth. 

That's when, according to court documents, Perkins boarded the bus and removed the student from the bus. Perkins stated that he walked the student to Door 7 - an exterior school-where the student fell to the ground. Perkins then took the student to his classroom where the student went directly to his seat before bouncing around and taking off his own clothes. 

The staff inside the classroom told Perkins that the student wasn't acting normally, and another staff member thought he was choking so Perkins attempted the Heimlich maneuver, court documents stated. 

The documents stated that through additional investigation, that portions of Perkins statements were untrue or omitted material events. 

The school nurse said that she received a call to respond to the classroom and saw the student lying on the ground and began her assessment of the student, court documents stated. 

Further investigation revealed that after obtaining access to the school surveillance system, authorities saw video from the hallway between Door 7 and the student's classroom. Officials stated they saw Perkins walking with the student in his grasp, escorting him down the hallway. The officer stated Perkins increased the intensity of his physical handling of the student immediately outside and while entering the doorway of the classroom. Officials believed Perkins may have pushed the student from behind while entering the classroom. 

After receiving additional surveillance video from the Jarvis Transportation Center, which houses the Cy-Fair ISD buses, they were able to view video from inside the bus containing the student and outside the external Door 7, court records stated. 

It was determined that the student did appear to shove something inside his mouth while on the bus and attempted to avoid intervention from Perkins and other personnel. Officers said they did not see the student fall outside of Door 7, which was different than what Perkins claimed, though officials noted a portion of the external school area was not captured by surveillance video, according to the court records. 

Upon review of the surveillance video from inside the student's room, officials were able to connect the physical contact that was initially observed between Perkins and the student in the hallway to what happened inside the classroom, documents stated. 

The documents added that officials saw Perkins forcefully and deliberately push the student from behind, by extending both arms to push the student forward. The student became slightly airborne and landed chest-down with his knees and hands hitting the tile floor. The officer stated he believed the student experienced pain as a result of the push and contact with the ground. Officials said, "The push was forceful, and the student hit the ground with significant force." The surveillance video inside the classroom recorded sound and officers said a loud thud could be heard at the point where the student fell to the ground. 

Court records further stated the officer did not believe the push was within the bounds of reasonable discipline. The officer stated Perkins use was unprovoked and excessive in degree. The officer stated that Perkins knew the student still had food in his mouth and that the student had a history of potential choking hazards. After being pushed to the ground, the student got up, removed and dropped his backpack, and walked to his desk in the corner. At that point, officials said multiple staff members were inside the room and appeared to see what was happening. 

It was further determined, according to court records, that Perkins and a paraprofessional walked to the student and stood directly in front of him. Within one minute of sitting down, the student removed his own shirt and pants. The staff then retrieved a trash can, believing the student was going to throw up the food in his mouth. Within approximately 90 seconds of the student sitting down, the staff can be heard saying the student was choking. The student's body became limp shortly thereafter and Perkins attempted the Heimlich maneuver, which was unsuccessful, and emergency personnel were called. 

Court records stated the student was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hermann-Cypress hospital and later life-flighted to Texas Children's Hospital. Officials said the student suffered a catastrophic medical event, which included a significant period of oxygen deprivation. Officials said multiple brain scans were conducted and the student showed no brain activity. 

Officials said, according to court records, they learned the student passed away on Wednesday. 

Perkins was arrested on Wednesday afternoon. 

What we don't know:

The student's name has not been released due to student privacy laws. 

What they're saying:

Cy-Fair ISD has released a statement regarding what happened saying, "Student safety is our top priority. The district does not tolerate conduct that compromises the safety of our children, and we thoroughly investigate any allegations of staff mistreatment of students.

We are currently investigating a serious incident involving a student and a staff member at the Carlton Center. Upon learning of the allegation, the district took immediate action to remove the staff member and place the individual on administrative leave. CFISD is cooperating fully with law enforcement to ensure a comprehensive investigation and will take all necessary actions based on the findings.

"We are devastated by the loss of one of our students. My most sincere prayers are with the family, and we grieve alongside them during this heartbreaking time," said Dr. Doug Killian, superintendent of schools.

Due to the active investigation and student privacy laws, the district cannot provide further details at this time."