Adam Zuvanich/Houston Public Media
Pictured is a sign outside the headquarters for Cy-Fair ISD on Sept. 10, 2024, in Cypress, Texas.
A behavioral specialist at a Cy-Fair ISD campus has been criminally charged after allegedly pushing a disabled student who later died, according to court documents.
Donald Perkins, 50, has been charged with injury to a disabled person, a felony, Harris County court documents show. On April 23, Perkins allegedly pushed a 16-year-old autistic student to the ground, and the student ended up choking moments later, according to police investigators. The alleged incident took place at the Carlton Pre-Vocational Center, a specialized school for students with disabilities located northwest of Houston.
The student, which court documents described as “essentially non-verbal,” was transported to Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital and later flown to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. According to court documents, the student was pronounced dead due to a “significant period of oxygen deprivation resulting in no brain activity.”
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At approximately 8 a.m. April 23, Cy-Fair ISD police officers responded to a report of a medical emergency involving a student.
According to court documents, Perkins told officers he had escorted the student off of a bus and to a classroom and that the student had fallen when entering the classroom. Perkins was escorting the student because the student had taken a piece of food from the bus driver and put it in his mouth, court documents show.
Police said that after speaking with Perkins, they reviewed surveillance video from the school and the bus and allegedly saw inconsistencies with Perkins’ story.
“I observed at the 7:06:26 a.m. mark of the video, the defendant forcefully and deliberately push [the student] from behind,” one of the investigating officers wrote in court documents. “The push was forceful and [the student] hit the ground with significant force.”
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The student then went and sat down, but began acting erratically, and staff noticed that he appeared to be choking, according to court documents.
Perkins attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver, but was unsuccessful, court records show.
In a statement to Houston Public Media, a spokesperson for Cy-Fair ISD said Perkins was placed on administrative leave following the incident and that the district is cooperating with law enforcement.
“We are devastated by the loss of one of our students. My most sincere prayers are with the family, and we grieve alongside them during this heartbreaking time,” Cy-Fair ISD Superintendent Doug Killian said in a statement.
Perkins was set to be released from the Harris County Jail after posting a $30,000 bond on Friday, court records show.
A defense attorney for Perkins was not listed in online court documents as of Friday.