Thus spaketh an 11-year-old girl at Whitehorse middle school
according to witnesses

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TODAY’S QUIZ: Guess who is allowed back in school and who is not? Answers at bottom of this blog.

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We excerpt three separate Madison police interviews conducted February 19 with witnesses of the event that occurred February 13 at Whitehorse middle school. More can be found on the Madison Police website. 

The principals here are:

• Robert Mueller-Owens, the positive behavior coach. Identified as white.

• XXX — the 11-year-old subject whose mother and grandmother alleged she was unduly physically accosted, identified as black

• Barbara Pietz, the classroom teacher, identified as white

• Tammy Gue, special education assistant, identified as black

• Classmate — an 11-year-old witness whose name is redacted in the police report, race uncertain due to redaction on the police report.

Police interview with Tammy Gue

Gue said Mueller-Owens was standing there with his hands folded in front of him and XXX kept cursing him out. Mueller-Owens then turned to Pietz and said she needed to remove her class and take them to the LMC. Mueller-Owens then nudged XXX and said, “Go.”

Gue described the nudge as placing his open palm of one of his hands on XXX’s back and pushing her forward. Gue said XXX then pulled her shoulders backward, like to indicate Get Off Me. and then said, “Don’t fucking touch me. I’m not fucking going anywhere. You white, bald-headed motherfucker.”

Gue told me XXX walked to the door, opened it and closed it. Mueller-Owens stuck his foot in the door. … both of them [were] playing tug-of-war with the door … and then [Mueller-Owens] pushes her out of the door using the open palm of one of his hands. She said XXX then punched Mueller-Owens in the face, using the closed fist of one of her hands and breaking his eyeglasses. 

Gue stated hands just started flailing between between them both, with XXX stating, “Don’t fucking touch me.” … Gue tries to get in between them but before she could do that Mueller-Owens grabs both of them, pivots, and throws them onto the ground. Gue told me she wound up on her knees with her legs on XXX’s legs and holding XXX’s right hand down. Gue stated she took XXX into the computer room and then XXX started screaming about her hair, saying Mueller-Owens tore her hair out.

Gue said she never saw Mueller-Owens grab XXX’s hair but saw his physical aggression as he was pushing XXX out of the class. Gue stated she saw suspected when the hands started flying Mueller-Owens caught one of the braids. I asked Gue who started the physical contact and she said Mueller-Owens. She stated there was no justification for Mueller-Owens to push her out of the classroom.

Police interview with Mrs. Pietz

Pietz said at the beginning of the day … she smelled air freshener. Pietz told me she had fragrance sensitivity. She told me her eyes will water and she will cough. … She stated XXX came by her classroom again and sprayed air freshener into the classroom.

Pietz stated she called down to the office … can someone please come and take the air freshener away from her. Pietz told me she completed science with her class and then XXX’s class comes in. She said XXX did not come right away with her class but came in halfway through the class with a staff member and was told to go sit in her seat … but didn’t sit in her seat and sat in a seat in front of the class near some friends. Pietz said she went over to redirect XXX to sit in her seat. XXX didn’t move so Pietz went back to teaching her class. 

Pietz told me XXX had headphones connected to her cell phone and was listening to music and continuing to talk to her friends, disrupting class. Pietz said she talked to XXX three more times trying to get her to move to her seat. Pietz finally walked over to her and stood next to her and told her she needed to go to her seat, now. XXX told Pietz, “I was going to but I’m not going to now because you are standing by me. You need to go away.” Pietz told her, “I’m going to stand by you until you go to your seat. You’ve had multiple chances.”

XXX then told Pietz, “I’m going to spray air freshener in your face.” … Pietz told me she then called for support, again.

Special education assistant Tammy Gue came to the classroom. Gue tried to get XXX to leave the classroom but she wouldn’t go. Gue called for Robert Mueller-Owens, positive behavior coach. ….

Mueller-Owens stands in the doorway and quietly motions to XXX to get her attention to come out but she ignores him. He then comes into the room and asks XXX to come over. She walks over to the door but refuses to leave the room. Pietz told me Mueller-Owens lightly put his arm around XXX’s upper back to guide her out of the room. XXX then got upset and started yelling, “Don’t touch me. You can’t touch me.” 

Pietz said Mueller-Owens backed off and stood in the corner, trying to give XXX some space. … Pietz couldn’t remember if it was Mueller-Owens or Gue but one of them radioed for the school security officer to respond. Mueller-Owens then asked Pietz if she would escort her class to the LMC (library). Pietz said … something happened behind her back … when she looked Mueller-Owens and XXX were out in the hallway on the floor. Mueller-Owens’ glasses were also on the floor. … Pietz then heard Gue say “I got her Rob, you can get up.” Pietz then closed the classroom door. 

Police interview with 11-year-old classmate

[Classmate] said XXX was not sitting down in her seat as she was instructed to do by Mrs. Pietz [the classroom teacher] and replied “I’ll sit down when you take a shower.”

XXX explained that students think it can smell in the classroom at times and that XXX was going to spray Fabreze at Mrs. Pietz … Mrs. Pietz called for support and Mr. Rob [Mueller-Owens] showed up to help with the situation. Mr. Rob asked XXX to walk out of the classroom with him but XXX stated she was not going to leave. Mr. Rob then grabbed her arm and told her she had to leave the classroom but … XXX then told Mr. Rob if he touched her again she would punch him.  Mr. Rob then called for additional support … 

XXX began throwing punches at Mr. Rob with a closed fist.  … using both fists to repeatedly punch Mr. Rob in the face and ended up knocking his eyeglasses off his face  … while she was punching Mr. Rob in the face with both firsts, Mr. Rob was trying to grab (her) hands and shoulders to “get her off of him.”

 … Mr. Rob and XXX left the classroom  … but as she looked further she could see Mr. Rob on the floor of the hallway.  XXX told me another teacher, possibly Mrs. Tammy [Gue] went over to help Mr. Rob get off the floor as he was slow to get up . XXX stated she could see Mr. Rob’s face and … he was “all red.”  I asked (the witness) if she saw Mr. Rob hit or punch XXX at all during the incident and she replied “no.”  

Blaska’s Bottom Line: The police report is very thorough. It indicates Robert Mueller-Owens completed MMSD’s non-violent crisis intervention training program on August 21, 2018. He also received training in something called Advanced Physical Hold-Supine training on September 24, 2018.

Blaska’s Final Question: How many of us have that training, not to mention that kind of patience?

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Answers to the quiz: XXX is back in school. Mr. Mueller-Owens is not.

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