NEW JERSEY — The city of Greenwich, Connecticut, has agreed to pay $5 million for the estate of a boy who killed himself on the first day of his sophomore year after relentless bullying in the public school system. The minor was 15 years old.
Officials and attorneys confirmed Tuesday that the Board of Aldermen has approved the settlement, which is considered the largest municipal settlement of bullying complaints in the state of Connecticut, in the case of Bartlomiej (Bart) Palosz. Palosz took his own life in 2013 after enduring more than four years of “ferocious” bullying at Greenwich public schools.
More than 25 reports of intimidation during this period, between 2009 and 2013. During this time, Bart Palosz was repeatedly punched, kicked, pushed down stairs, thrown in trash, shoved into his locker, insulted, kicked foot and otherwise harassed, according to the lawsuit.
He spent three of those years at Western Middle School, where administrators, teachers and counselors were “aware of the history of Bart’s long history of bullying,” according to court documents. These records also indicated that Palosz was regularly bullied and that intervention by school staff was necessary.
“The observations recorded on the form reflected multiple incidents during each year of high school, including name-calling, teasing, theft of property, and physical abuse,” the court documents say.
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There was even an incident on her last day of eighth grade, according to the CT Post. He ended up with a cut on his forehead, after hitting the corner of a school locker, and had to undergo stitches.
The bullying pattern was reported at Greenwich High School when Palosz transferred there under city-mandated policy. Palosz’s counselor at Greenwich High School told all of his teachers about his history of bullying on Nov. 19, 2012, according to court documents.
Less than a year later, on August 27, 2013, he committed suicide.
His parents filed a lawsuit against the city almost exactly two years later, alleging the school failed to investigate bullying allegations or discipline suspected bullies, leading the teen to decide to suicide.
A 2014 Greenwich magazine article offered an in-depth look at Palosz’s story, describing him as “an ordinary kid who loved camping, fishing and scouts” and had a loving family but couldn’t tolerate bullying. prolonged. . It included another interview with his sister, who pointed to a failing school system that did little to respond to reports of bullying despite repeated pleas from Palosz’s parents to do something about what was happening. to their son.
The abuse was not confined to the school walls either.
Lawyers say Palosz was also harassed after school, attacked as he left the building on his bicycle and on the school bus, and pushed into thorny bushes. According to the lawsuit, administrators and staff at Greenwich Public Schools “repeatedly failed” to comply with the privacy policy. intimidation of the city and did “nothing” to ensure the safety of Palosz.
The city of Greenwich will pay $930,831.13 of the $5 million settlement, while its insurer will cover the rest. In approving the deal, the College of Aldermen said it recognized “this is an incredibly difficult situation for the Palosz family.”
His family say they still miss him every day, adding that “our lives have been devastated by his death”.
“Bart was a kind and wonderful boy who never should have endured the daily torment he experienced at school,” the Palosz family said. “We are filing this lawsuit in defense of Bart and other vulnerable victims of bullying in Greenwich and elsewhere. It is our deepest hope that this lawsuit will change the way the Greenwich school system responds to students who are victims of bullying so that no more tragic deaths”. .
An update of the study.
The people had sought to have the suit dismissed under the “sovereign immunity doctrine”, which states that government employees or entities cannot be prosecuted for their official acts. In 2018, a trio of appellate judges dismissed the motion to dismiss, accepting the plaintiffs’ argument that sovereign immunity protection “should not protect school employees who do not act in good faith in accordance” with mandatory anti-bullying policies and procedures.
This decision by the appeals court was essential for reasons other than the Palosz case, the lawyers said.
“This case is significant not only because it asserts Bart’s right to be protected from bullying, but also because Connecticut courts have repeatedly rejected the people’s claim that he had immunity. and could not be held responsible for failing to protect students who are bullied at school,” Jenifer said. Goldstein, an attorney representing the Palosz family.
The Estimates and Taxes Commission and the Claims Commission of the Representative Municipal Assembly also had to give their approval. BET gave it the nod on Monday night with a vote of 11-0 with one abstention. The other vote reportedly took place last week, according to a city spokesperson.
The issue of bullying at high schools across the tri-state came to the fore again earlier this month following the suicide of a 14-year-old freshman in New Jersey who took her own life days after a video showing a brutal attack on her in a school hallway. in the hands of other students. The district superintendent resigned following the backlash, which stemmed from allegations that administrators had not done enough to prevent the attacks or protect Adriana Kuch.
Four girls seen in the video were indefinitely suspended from school and later criminally charged in the case.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, there are resources to help. The National Suicide Prevention Line is available 24 hours a day with resources in Spanish at 1-800-273-8255 or 9-8-8 and offers services including live chat on its website. Click here for more information: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/help-yourself/en-espanol/