Philadelphia police have arrested a student’s mother who allegedly attacked the principal during a school event and are seeking her father for his role in the fight, which the School District said was “not acceptable.”
The punch-up allegedly occurred around 12:30 p.m. on June 6 during the annual “Fun Day” at Robert Pollock Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia.
Nichole Myers, 37, of the 9600 block of Ashton Road, has been charged with aggravated assault for her role in the incident (per state law, attacks on school employees are automatically charged as aggravated assault). Louis Kennedy, 40, of the 2700 block of North 13th Street, was still sought by police as of press-time.
Police said Myers and Kennedy came to the school and entered the school-yard to take their student out, when the first victim, identified as a vice principal at the school, tried to stop them and asked them to sign out the student per school protocol.
Myers allegedly pushed and shoved the vice principal while cursing and refusing to go to the office, according to the police report, before the school’s principal arrived, who she allegedly punched in the face, cutting him. The two struggled “as he attempted to defend himself and the two fell to the ground,” a police report stated. At that point, Kennedy allegedly joined the fight and punched the principal five to six times in the back of the head before he and Myers fled to a car and drove off.
“The School District of Philadelphia is committed to the safety and welfare of its students and staff,” a School District spokesman said via email. “The assault on two respected administrators is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated. Parents are our primary partners in the education of their children and that is why we work to ensure their respectful engagement in schools. While we can have differences, physical assaults will not be allowed. We are actively pursuing this matter with public safety authorities and fully cooperating with the investigations.”
The incident comes after heightened tensions in the Robert Pollock Elementary community. Some parents have complained about a drop in extracurricular programs, while claiming behavioral incidents have increased in the school in recent years. Others heavily criticized the administration over subjects including the school’s administrators not using a Philadelphia police officer’s donation of iPads intended for autistic students, which were later returned. But there is no indication those complaints were in any way related to the assault.
