Cloverdale middle school students accused of felony assault in last day of school fight

Four students at a Cloverdale middle school were arrested — three on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and a fourth on a misdemeanor — in connection with a fight on the last day of school that sent an eighth-grade girl to the hospital.

Reached Tuesday, Cloverdale Police Sgt. Sal Borusso said the juveniles were arrested a day after the June 9 incident, which took place on the campus of Washington School.

A 50-second video of the confrontation, which began between two eighth-grade girls, was posted on social media.

It begins as a girl walks menacingly toward a second girl. As the two start to fight they are surrounded by other students. One girl is knocked to the ground as the other continues to strike her. Surrounding students shout and chant, encouraging the dominating girl to keep swinging. As she does, at least three other students can be seen repeatedly kicking the girl on the ground in the head as she covers her face with her hands.

“Anytime you kick somebody, that’s the appropriate charge,” Borusso said of the felony offense of assault with a deadly weapon. He added that Cloverdale police have completed their reports on the incident, which have been submitted to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

A spokesperson for the office declined to comment on the case because it involves juveniles.

The children have since been released to their parents, police said Tuesday.

The mother of the girl who was kicked and beaten said her 13-year-old daughter was taken by paramedics to a Healdsburg hospital, where she said doctors told her the girl luckily did not have a concussion.

Her mother, who is not being identified to avoid identifying the girl, said her daughter missed her eighth grade promotion ceremony because she was in the hospital. She said Tuesday the girl continues to suffer bad headaches.

“She is still recuperating. Emotionally and mentally she is not doing OK,” the mother said.“It was really humiliating.”

She added that she called interim Principal John Markatos on Thursday morning and told a secretary that her daughter had let her know a girl was going to try to fight her. The mother said school officials did nothing to contact either student to prevent the fight.

The girl’s mother said the fight was about a boy’s necklace. The second girl told her daughter to give back the boy’s necklace. Her daughter said the boy hadn’t asked for it back. Apparently this angered the second girl, the mother said.

“Where was everybody?” the mother said. “Where was the playground supervisor?”

She said she believes the Cloverdale Unified School District failed to protect her daughter.

“The moment I called the school they were liable,” she said, adding that she helped police identify the students involved.

Neither Markatos nor Cloverdale Unified School District Superintendent Betha MacClain responded to Press Democrat requests for comment about the incident.

But in a June 13 letter to parents, MacClain acknowledges the fight: “CUSD staff are partnering with law enforcement to investigate, press charges, and administer consequences that will extend into the coming school year.”

She said an investigation is ongoing and no other information would be released as the incident involves minors.

“As educators, our first responsibility is to teach our students to be safe, responsible, and respectful, and to protect them when they are in our care,” MacClain said, adding, “When students make mistakes, we may need to punish them with negative consequences, but we also continue to teach our students communication skills, healthy alternatives, and how to handle conflict appropriately.”

Borusso said he wasn’t sure how long it took for an adult to respond on the playground. “The fight took a matter of seconds. I know several adults ran to break it up. Just like adults, kids won’t do things in front of people who will stop them,” he said.

He, along with community activist Angela Cordova, whose daughter, Shya, graduated Friday from eighth grade at Washington School, confirmed that many fights had been going on at the school in recent months.

Cordova said she believes the increase in fights is the result of popular Principal Mark Lucchetti being placed on administrative leave Feb. 28. There were two student walkouts earlier this year of 350 people at the school in protest of the move. The reason for the action by the district has not been revealed.

“Since Mr. Lucchetti left, there has been drugs, fighting, all kinds of crap,” Cordova said. “After he left, the school went to hell.”

She said several members of the audience at the promotion ceremony Friday gasped when one of the students who kicked the girl in the head was allowed to walk across the stage and receive an award.

“When I send my kids to school, I have to work for several hours. I have to trust that when I drop my kids off they’re safe,” Cordova said.

MacClain, in her June 13 letter to parents, said that when students return to the school in August “additional systems will be in place to support positive, appropriate behavior. Common agreements regarding expectations and consequences for failing to adhere to these agreements will be shared with students and families ...”

She said the district is “developing a task force of mental health professionals, community partners, and educators to collaborate with staff and families in sustaining healthy, safe, and supportive schools and communities.

“CUSD has also committed funding to support the establishment of a Campus Resource Officer in the 2022-2023 school year,” MacClain added.

Staff Writer Colin Atagi contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.