Columbus residents ask MCSD board to request GBI investigation of Montravious case

Nearly a year later, the Columbus Police Department hasn’t released results of its investigation into the Montravious Thomas case, so Columbus residents have formally asked the Muscogee County School Board to request the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

Montravious, then 13, is the student that contracted behavior specialist Bryant Mosley allegedly body-slammed “no less than” five times while disciplining Montravious Sept. 12 in the alternative education AIM Program at the Edgewood Student Services Center, where staff failed to get him medical treatment and sent him home on a bus, according to the $25 million lawsuit filed on Montravious’ behalf. His right leg was amputated below the knee Oct. 18.

Three residents asked the school board in person by speaking during the public agenda this month. In the past two weeks, more than 600 signers, including from across the United States, have asked the board through an online petition to request the GBI to investigate.

Michelle Dovishaw addressed the school board during the public agenda period at the monthly work session last week.

“If I go home now and whup my son and beat my son, smack him in the face, whatever, and he comes to school tomorrow with a mark on his face, DFACS is showing up at my house,” Dovishaw said. “But this boy can walk into school healthy – walk, key word – walk into the school and carried out and later have his leg amputated?

“… What would be the problem with calling the GBI in? Let them do a full, intense investigation. They are set away from everybody else. They are not in Columbus. They don’t have the connections. Let them do the investigation and say there’s nothing wrong.”

This week, during the public agenda portion of the board’s monthly meeting, two more residents spoke about the Montravious case.

Carol Jameson told the board, “What happened to Montravious Thomas last year is a true horror story. I could never have imagined anything so horrific happening to any child in any school anywhere in this country. I’m ashamed it happened in my hometown.

“What happened after this assault is no less shameful, beginning that very day, Sept. 12, 2016. What if this had happened to your child? What would you have expected from the school? What would you have expected from the police, the district attorney, the courts? What would you have expected from your school board? Whatever that was that you would have expected, I feel pretty sure the Thomas family did not get that.”

Jameson reminded the board, “You are elected officials. You’re accountable. You answer to the people, the public, those people who voted you in here. Some of you are replacements for people who didn’t believe that.”

Decisions board members make can “impact the lives of children for the rest of their lives,” Jameson said.

Jameson concluded, “If you are being asked to be a party to deception and secrecy, you know that’s not right.”

Alyssa Williams followed Jameson and asked the board these questions:

▪ “What type of behavior would a child have to show that would cause these or similar methods of restraint to be used?”

▪ “Are there different standards used for children with an IEP (individualized educational plan)?”

▪ “Do procedures vary based on the school the child is attending?”

▪ “Is there somewhere these procedures can be viewed?”

▪ “Were these methods used specifically by the contracted agency or are these statewide procedures?”

▪ “Is the Muscogee County School District still utilizing this agency?”

▪ “What is the protocol for when a child is injured at school?”

▪ “Who makes the determination if a child should receive emergency medical treatment?”

▪ “How can we as parents ensure our children receive proper emergency medical treatment even if we are unable to be reached at the moment?”

“Safety is the last thing a parent wants to be concerned about when they’re sending their child to school,” Williams said.

This case needs to be resolved for the Thomas family but also for the community, Williams said.

“We understand that in any situation it takes time to gather facts,” she said. “However, the incident occurred almost a year ago.”

At MoveOn.org, Williams posted Aug. 7 a petition stating, “We seek to have the Muscogee County Board of Education to ask all parties identified in OCGA Section 35-3-8.1 to request the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate potential wrongdoing within our local public school system.”

That code section of Georgia law declares who can request the GBI to assist other law enforcement agencies:

“Upon request of the governing authority or chief law enforcement officer of any municipality, the sheriff of any county, the chief of the county police force of any county having a population of more than 100,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1970 or any future such census, the judge of the superior court of any county of this state, or the Governor, the director, in unusual circumstances, may, and in the case of a request by the Governor, shall, direct the bureau to render assistance in any criminal case, in the prevention or detection of violations of law, or in the detection or apprehension of persons violating the criminal laws of this state, any other state, or the United States.”

Williams said she is aware the GBI in December declined District Attorney Julia Slater’s request to investigate the Montravious case. GBI public affairs director Nelly Miles told the Ledger-Enquirer then, “Due to the active investigation being conducted by the Columbus Police Department, the GBI is not conducting a separate investigation at this time.”

Williams said, “It does seem perplexing that the CPD has yet to do anything with the case.”

Williams concluded, “The citizens count on our school board to be our advocates. Due to a few different things that have transpired, there has been some faith lost in whether some of our board members have our children’s best interest at heart, including but not limited to their safety and education.

“… We are asking that you make this request and restore some of the faith that has been lost. Show us that accountability, honesty and integrity are values that the board exemplifies.”

No school board member and no administrator responded to any of the comments about the Montravious case during the work session or meeting.

School board members Frank Myers of District 8 and John Thomas (no relation to Montravious) of District 2 said during a July 29 public forum about the Montravious case that the CPD’s investigation of the incident contains a conflict of interest because the CPD’s lead investigator on the Montravious case, Lt. Consuelo Askew, works part time as an MCSD school resource officer and was on duty at the AIM Program when Montravious was injured.

Asked whether Askew has a conflict of interest, CPD Chief Ricky Boren told the Ledger-Enquirer in a July 28 email, “Her first and primary concern is to the Columbus Police Department and the citizens of Columbus. I do not believe that there is a conflict of interest in this case.”

The Ledger-Enquirer has periodically asked Askew for an update on the case. Last week, she said to check with her this week, but she hasn’t been reached for comment since then.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Columbus residents ask MCSD board to request GBI investigation of Montravious case."