Linden bus aid tells boy: I’ll put your head through a window

LINDEN — An expletive-filled argument on board a school bus between an aide and a 9-year-old boy led to an aide being fired.

An edited video of the verbal confrontation aired by News 12 New Jersey highlights the aide telling the student: "I bet they beat your (expletive) every night. I know your father does," the aide says to the student, who attends School No. 2 in Linden.

Lt. Christopher Guenther, a spokesman for Linden Police told New Jersey 101.5 there was also a "brief physical altercation" during the incident on Monday afternoon that was not seen on the video shown by News 12.

Guenther said because the incident is under investigation by the department's Juvenile Aid Bureau he could not disclose the circumstances of the incident.

The video cuts again to the aide telling the student after he apparently used profanity: "Call me (expletive). Say it again. How dare you. I'll put your (expletive) head through that window if you say it again."

The News 12 report said the video was taken by another student on the bus, but no credit was given. The video does not show what prompted the confrontation.

The aide was identified by school officials only as a 58-year-old woman from Roselle who worked for a company contracted by the district.

In a statement Linden Schools Superintendent Danny Robertozzi said he was "appalled" at the woman's behavior towards a student and that she was immediately fired.

"We take great care in providing a safe and nurturing environment for our students at all times they are in our care. The behavior shown in a cellphone video by an employee of a contracted bus company does not reflect the values that the Linden Public Schools faculty and staff embody on a daily basis," Robertozzi said in a statement.

The superintendent said he met with the parents and the child and have offered any assistance we can in helping the family get through this difficult and traumatic incident.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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