Former Flowertown school employee charged with scratching non-verbal student: SPD

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A former support staff member at Flowertown Elementary School was arrested in connection with the abuse of a non-verbal and autistic student.

Patricia Rose Harris is charged with child abuse, according to the Summerville Police Department (SPD). The SPD took her into custody on April 25.

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According to the SPD, the incident occurred on April 22 in the school's special needs classroom. The school resource officer (SRO) was informed that Harris and the student came into the nurse's office with scratch marks. The student had two scratch marks on his chin and was bleeding; Harris was scratched under her left eye.

Police say the SRO viewed surveillance video of the classroom, which shows the student abruptly stand out of his chair and shake a piece of paper. Harris responds by grabbing the student and forcing him to sit in the chair.

The video shows Harris make a swatting motion at the paper the student is holding, which appears to be when the student was scratched because the student then puts his hand on his chin and starts crying. Harris is shown wiping under her left eye, according to the SPD.

Police say the surveillance video did not have audio.

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The SRO spoke to the special needs teacher and a substitute teacher assigned to the classroom about the incident. Although both were working with other students when the incident occurred, according to the SPD, the substitute teacher said she observed Harris grab the student from her peripheral view.

When interviewed by the SRO, Harris said the student is prone to attacking his classmates and she could not have physically harmed him because she has arthritis. She told the SRO that the student scratched himself and her with the paper, according to the SPD.

According to the SPD, Harris told the SRO that she was stopping the student from getting hurt or hurting others, but school administrators said she did not follow district protocol for responding to aggressive students.

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Three days after the incident, the SPD filed a criminal charge against Harris.

Dorchester School District Two (DD2) says Harris is no longer employed by the district.