“To call it bullying minimizes the severity and horror of this attack,” said Kim T. Cole, Summer Smith’s attorney and her son SeMarion Humphrey, an eighth-grader at Haggard Middle School.
A fellow student befriended SeMarion and invited him to a sleepover that took place on the weekend of Feb. 12, Cole and Smith told CNN. Smith says SeMarion was unaware that some of the boys who harassed him at school would also be at the sleepover.
SeMarion was called insults, made to drink what looked like urine and shot with BB guns in a sleepover that was “pre-calculated” and “racially motivated,” Cole said.
SeMarion had been harassed while on the football team, Smith said, prompting him to leave the team during the 2019-2020 season.
According to Smith, SeMarion reported the alleged harassment to the coach and a school counselor, but she said she felt school officials brushed it off because “ boys will be boys. ”
SeMarion is still a classmate of the football team members who harassed him, even though he is no longer on the team, both Smith and Cole said.
Video of the alleged bullying is circulating
At the sleepover, Cole said SeMarion was being taunted, called the N word, and also called homophobic insults.
Some guys shot SeMarion with BB guns, Cole said. A cell phone video shared by Cole shows that SeMarion was made to drink what looks like urine in a cup. Laughter and giggles can be heard in the video.
Another video shows SeMarion being slapped once while sleeping, Cole claimed.
SeMarion initially didn’t tell anyone about what allegedly happened during the sleepover because the boys threatened him, Cole said. He did not return to school until the week of February 22 due to the blizzard the week before, the lawyer said.
Back at school, he was asked by a classmate if he really drank the urine. Cole told CNN that SeMarion did not initially remember the alleged urinary incident because he took sleeping pills that night for his anxiety. The classmate then showed him the video that was shared at school, the lawyer added.
According to Cole, SeMarion only told the principal what happened during the sleepover last week, when school officials were notified of the videos. The school notified his mother, Cole added.
The district starts an investigation
“Incidents like this affect our entire community. I want to let our community know that Plano does not tolerate and will not tolerate ISD bullying or harassment and that every student should be treated with dignity and respect,” said Bonser.
In a statement to CNN, the school district said Haggard Middle School leaders and counselors “immediately began to work closely and diligently with all concerned students and their parents.”
“Since Plano ISD employs members of local law enforcement as school counselors, Plano police were immediately involved,” the school district said.
Plano Police Department Public Information Officer David Tilley told CNN that the department is “aggressively investigating this case.”
Tilley said Chief Ed Drain met with SeMarion’s family and described the meeting as “very productive.”
SeMarion wore a shirt that read ‘Justice for Me’
Smith told CNN that she felt “devastated” when she was made aware of what happened during the sleepover, adding that she “cried for a long time.”
“I was just angry, I was sad, I was confused because he was with his friend,” Smith told CNN.
Cole said she will push for the school district to make changes to the way they deal with bullying and harassment.
“Right now Plano ISD is not working,” said Cole. I’m not sure if the failure is in the policy. I’m not sure if it is failing in the implementation of the policy. I don’t know where the failure is, but I intend to get to the bottom of it and ensure that Plano ISD has proper policies and procedures to ensure the safety of our children. ”
SeMarion felt “empowered” during a protest that took place last week, Cole said. The lawyer said SeMarion was “just ecstatic” after seeing people show up to support him, adding that he was wearing a shirt and made a sign that read “Justice for me.”