The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office filed charges against 11 Matanzas High School students on Monday following a brawl that involved students hitting each other, landing a punch on a teacher, attacking an administrator and resisting a deputy.
It is the largest mass arrest at the school since it opened in the fall of 2005 (a few months after School Board member Colleen Conklin voted against naming the school by the Spanish word for “slaughter” or “bloodbath”). The previous school day, the Sheriff’s Office arrested a 16-year-old Matanzas student for biting a teacher.
Three of the students face felony charges and were physically arrested and taken to the Flagler County jail. The eight others were not physically arrested. The Sheriff’s Office filed misdemeanor charges against them with the State Attorney’s Office. All the students face juvenile charges for now, as only the State Attorney elects to charge a juvenile as an adult, if the situation warrants it. Two of the students arrested on felony charges are 17, one is 14.
The incident took place around 1 p.m. as two school resource deputies responded to a disturbance in the hallway between buildings 5 and 6. Teachers and administrators were trying to break up what had turned into a brawl. It’s not clear what started it.
A 165-second body cam video released by the Sheriff’s Office, blurred just enough to protect students’ identities, shows a chaotic scene in a zone connecting hallways, with less than two dozen students, some of them rearing back and swinging, throwing punches, grabbing, pushing and screaming. A faculty member or a resource deputy yells out “go to class” to others stopping to watch, suggesting that the brawl took place during a class change. The video shows one student being ordered not to move and to put up her hands, and another being arrested and handcuffed.
The scene looked as if it was calming down about 60 seconds into the footage, but a student bursts through a door and attempts to make her way past a faculty member, then slips away from the grasp of one or two people. The deputy orders another student who appears in the frame to walk toward him, and has her clutch the student who’d been handcuffed to keep him from walking off. As that takes place, yet another student rushes the deputy, and is arrested in turn, with handcuffs, as the clutching girl now appears to be clutching both.
“The lack of respect demonstrated by these students is simply shameful,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release. “But actions have consequences. Parents, be the Sheriff in your home and teach your kids the importance of respecting teachers, staff, and deputies. Teach them how to handle disagreements and that fighting only leads to more violence. We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence at schools, and you will be arrested. I also commend our School Resource Deputies and the Matanzas High School staff for quickly getting a very volatile situation under control before anyone was seriously hurt.”
Superintendent LaShakia Moore, quoted in the same release, said “these actions are not indicative of the thousands of students who come to our campuses each and every day to learn.”
TR says
They all should be locked up and I wish that when a teenager gets in trouble and the police arrest him/her, their picture is posted all over social media. Maybe if this is done the parents will start doing their job in teaching THEIR kids how to behave. It’s not anyone else’s responsibility to teach a kid how to behave and how to respect their elders. This is getting ridicules.
Sarah says
First of all as a parent you don’t even know what happened all you know is what the white folks ssid.Were you there to known what happened? oh i didn’t think so. So you can be quiet please and thank you keep it cute.
TR says
Now that’s funny. First of all, I heard the report the first time on the news on TV and the reporter was black so you know what can do with your racist comment. Second of all I don’t care weather I was there or not just like you weren’t. Or maybe you were? So you’re saying this never happened? Yea the news media, and sheriff’s dept. have nothing better to do then make up stories like this, I don’t think so. Because you like to assume lets assume you were told a story by one of these bundles of joy that were involved in the brawl. Heck, might have been your own kid. Do you know when most teenagers are lying? When their lips are moving. Oh and just so you know, I will not be quiet because it’s my right, maybe you should think before commenting and end up saying nothing.
Just so you know, My comment was directed as to the way under age criminals (punks) are given leniency on not having their picture publicized on the media outlets for everyone to see. Like I’ve said before if a teenager wants to act like an adult and commit adult crimes, they should be treated as one. This includes having their pictures and name shown for all to see. So parents need to step up and take care of their kids.
Mona says
Regardless of what happened , how can you be supportive of beating the students and teachers? Your comment suggested just that. It is like saying “oh, maybe they were right beating the others, we just don’t know, because we were not there”.
Sarah says
First of all as a parent you don’t even know what happened all you know is what the white folks ssid.Were you there to known what happened? Oh i didn’t think so. They didn’t try to stop anything, their instinct was to slam young females on the ground and cuff them. Since you agree with that you are just as worse than them. Do better.
Jacob says
what a bunch of sissy’s
Steve says
You’re no Parent if you think this is ok regardless of what happened and turning the Race card makes you a bigger loser
Bill Boots says
Sounds like the poo pooing, downplaying has begun, nothing to see here!
Superintendent LaShakia Moore, quoted in the same release, said “these actions are not indicative of the thousands of students who come to our campuses each and every day to learn.”
Atwp says
Just wondering about the ethnicity of the students that were arrested. A brawl in school is not good. Am pretty revenge will follow. Guns and killings, a dark scenario but probably true. Hope it dosent end that way.
bill says
me too
TR says
Well I don’t know what the ethnicity of all that were involved was. But when watching the video, one of the girls getting put in the police car was Black. Her face was blurred but her arms were not. But you already know this didn’t you Atwp?
Thomas DellaMonica says
Blamed the parents or Guardians that raised them. Sad.
Shelly says
They all need to be expelled. Those kids are lucky I am not their mother, or they would be facing the consequences of their actions outside of the courtroom, not just in the courtroom. Expel them all.
JimboXYZ says
The new criminals are juvenile delinquents. Need to release that video.
Better than this says
No matter what everyone says in response to my comments the truth is still the truth. The truth is this is exactly why I send my daughter to a private Christian school. This never happens at the private school my child goes to. Why? Because the parents, staff, and students care about each other and respect each other. Most want to learn. Public schools are a cesspool of rebellious kids, under paid and over worked teachers, and bloated over paid administrators. Its like watching a bad reality show. I am so glad my children are not exposed to this horror.
Pat Stote says
That is quite an eltist remark. . Everyone doesn’t have the money to send their kids to a private school.
Stuff happens everywhere but for sure on a different level at private school.
Absolutely Disgusted says
Not a very Christian response. Who do you think you are I to say public schools are a cesspool of rebellious kids!
How do you know the staff, parents an students don’t care about each other?? Have you ever talked with them, socialized with them or do you even know any of them?
My children went all their school years in Flagler County, received a good education and have gone on to be respectful adults. Your comments are a horror.
Judith Michaud says
Wow, What a powerful inaccurate statement ! The teachers in public schools are as hard working and dedicated to their students as the ones in private schools ! I volunteered in a Palm Coast Elementary classroom for 3 years and I can tell you I saw this love and dedication first hand. My children and grandchildren attended and are still attending schools in Palm Coast. Maybe you should do some research and you will find that private schools have their share of trouble too !. Sadly we live in a very biased state and that passes down to the kids from their upbringing , so do not blame this on the public school system ! All teachers are over worked and under paid !
endless dark money says
their futures were already sold for profits. School fights are nothing new, charging them with felonies is. Hope their parents have money or it wil be a future of crime for them. Guess they have been watching the elected officials and the amount of “respect” they have for others.
teacher says
Zero tolerance should be where all students who were the aggressors in this melee, should not be allowed back in school. When you suspend them for 5 days, they are back looking for revenge. Words without actions=nothing, to say zero tolerance and allowed them back in school= you have tolerated their actions. Until parents are put out, and have to deal with their children’s bad choices at home, their behavior will not change. Also, banning cell phones from schools will help, students actually plan these fights so they can videotape the action.
tammy smith says
now lets tell the real story this has been going on for over a year MULTIPLE parents have called up to the school to try to get this resolved and the administration did NOTHING how do u let a 15 year old loose so she can go fight another student these deans, teachers & principals do not CARE for these students they have FAILED them now they will be displayed as criminals. the police will NOT show the video of them slamming teenagers down & using excessive force as police officers u go through training to learn how to properly escort somebody to the ground i didn’t know suplexing someone was what these officers were taught. yall also lied & said that the 14 year old had battery charges when she/him has a misdemeanor for disorderly conduct i have video footage of DEPUTY KING hitting a student was he in handcuffs? no
bill says
if these little snot nose kids don’t get any type of discipline for their actions, then the whole system is the blame take a look at their home life and check out mom and dad you’ll find out that it starts from there most of the time .
i’m sure the native people down here see this stuff and say it was never like this before people from over the country started to move down here they destroy the way of life that these people who were born and raised down here had misfit kids come from misfit parents, or a messed up home life . I come from a family of 10 six brothers four sisters we all went to Catholic school elementary and high school and my brother was a Catholic priest never never did I ever see anything like this or have any problems like this when I was going to school
TR says
Bill I’m with you 100% I also never saw this kinda stuff while going to school. But IMO one of the reasons this all started when the parents were told they couldn’t hit their kids anymore to discipline them. I knew back then this was going to become an issue and look where we are today. Kids have no respect for anyone and they act like they have this big chip on their shoulders and can do whatever they want because they know there is no real consequences for their actions. I can tell you that if any of these bundles of joys were my kids they would definitely get a butt kicking when they got home. Old school rules, rule.
dave says
What we have on demonstration here is the new way to deal with issues, violence. Maybe lock those proud parents up, since they must not be teaching anything at home, but or demonstrating violence.,
The dude says
When parents are storming into School Board meetings and openly threatening “second amendment solutions”, what do you think the kids are gonna learn?
So goes the Captain…
The dude says
So goes the Captain…
I’m so glad we moved and got my daughter somewhere where they will actually invest in the children.
My heart breaks for all her friends she had to leave behind.
I hate to even think it, but I would not be at all surprised if the next big school shooting reported nationally came out of one of these Flagler schools.