On February 21, a 17-year-old student was caught on camera appearing to knock a paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida, to the ground and brutally beat her. According to a statement from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, âThe student who is approximately 6â6â and 270 pounds, is shown kicking and punching the unconscious victim several times in the back and head.â
Sheriff Rick Staly shared that students and staff members came to the victimâs aid before the School Resource Deputies arrived on the scene. It reportedly took four adults to pry the student off of Joan Naydich, the staff member involved in the incident.
The student has a history of aggressive behavior.
Brendan J. Depa was initially arrested on aggravated battery charges as a juvenile, but was re-arrested and charged as an adult. Depaâs juvenile record indicates a history of battery charges from March, April, and June 2019, when he was 13 years old. At the time, he entered Intensive Delinquency Diversion Services, which according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is âan alternative to formal court involvement and supervision for youth determined to be at high risk of becoming chronic offenders.â
Its goals are protecting the public, reducing recidivism, and increasing responsible behavior. Prior to his recent arrest, Depa resided at East Coast Habilitation Options which describes itself as âcommitted to improving the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities,â including teens with âautism, intellectual disabilities and behavioral challenges.â
According to the sheriffâs office release, Depa was upset over Naydich allegedly taking his Nintendo Switch away during class. But his temper didnât wane after the alleged assault. According to the Daytona Beach News Journal, Depa asked what would happen and whether he'd be allowed to return to the group home where he lives, according to a charging affidavit. When he was unable to get a clear answer, Depa reportedly kicked office furniture until computer hardware fell.
When authorities led a handcuffed Depa away, they passed where Naydich was being cared for. Her now former student reportedly began spitting and yelling that he would kill her.
Naydich wants to set the record straight.
"For all you keyboard warriors, I just want to set the record straight. I never took the Nintendo Switch from him. From anyone that's read or heard differently, I've been told this was unfortunately misinformation," she said, according to a GoFundMe that was set up to aid her during this time.
âIâm hopeful that the awareness of this incident being spread far and wide will prevent anyone else from ever dealing with the trauma, physical healing and disruption of everyday life that this has caused,â Naydich who is a mom of two, said of the incident.
Advocates are saying mental health and educational support systems are broken.
Depa is facing a 30-year sentence if convicted, special education and mental health advocates are citing that it is not a law enforcement issue, but a mental health one, highlighting the need to fix a broken system.
âIf in fact the student had known behavioral issues, and if some portion of this was a situation at the school where the school district has some negligence because of some failure in their own system, then it would seem to me an overly harsh approach in terms of how to deal with this situation, from a legal perspective," said Stephen Furnari, an attorney and chairperson of the Exceptional Student Education Parent Advisory Committee.
Teachers and staff face this daily.
By no means is this sort of violence happening in a vacuum, the American Psychological Association School conducted a study from July 2020 to June 2021, "Violence against Educators and School Personnel: Crisis During Covid," that included 14,966 participants divided between 9,370 teachers, 860 administrators, 1,499 school psychologists and social workers, and 3,237 other school staff members.
"Staff" is an umbrella term that encompasses paraprofessionals, school counselors, instructional aides, school resource officers â a typically unexamined group â in which the highest rates of student physical violence were reported, at 22%. Furthermore 29% of staff desire or plan to leave their job.
