GREENEVILLE — A Sullivan County parent has filed a $1.2 million civil rights lawsuit against Johnson City, claiming their son was wrongfully suspended from riding the school bus for three days.
According to the lawsuit, the parent claims the child, who is African-American, was discriminated against because of his race. The lawsuit was filed last month in U.S. District Court in Greeneville and names Johnson City as the lone defendant.
The plaintiff is listed only with the initials “E.D.” and is the parent of the student, “D.D.”
The lawsuit stems from an altercation that took place on a school bus in December 2019 between D.D. and a Caucasian student named “David.”
According to the lawsuit, David began bullying younger children on the bus and D.D. told him to stop. Then, David used a water bottle to spray water on other students, and D.D. grabbed the bottle.
The student claims David grabbed the water bottle back and began taunting him and calling him names. At that time, the two students began pushing each other with David taking a swing at D.D., the lawsuit states.
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