PDF: Tyler Long Amended ComplaintPDF: Answer to amended complaint file
Despite claims that he was bullied at school since the sixth grade and suffered depression over the abuse, the suicide of Murray County High School junior Tyler Long happened on his parents' watch, according to the school system.
Parents David and Tina Long told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in March that 17-year-old Tyler was bullied until the day before he took his own life. The Longs contend in a lawsuit that his suicide was a direct result of abuse that went unchecked by Murray County school officials.
The suit, filed Jan. 29 in U.S. District Court in Rome, Ga., names the school system and high school principal Gina Linder.
"If he wasn't bullied ... my son would be here," Mrs. Long said in March.
But Murray County's answer to the suit denies liability in Tyler's suicide. The system refutes allegations by the Longs that school officials failed to protect him from bullying and that the school system violated his constitutional rights by not doing so, court documents show.
"There was no repeated or systematic bullying of Tyler Long and (Murray County Schools) provided a safe environment," the court documents state. "Tyler Long committed suicide at the plaintiff's house, not at or on (school) property."
Tyler was diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder, a form of autism, records show. Mrs. Long said that, because of the disorder, Tyler seemed to focus on negative actions and remarks others made toward him.
Mr. Long found his son dead, hanging in his bedroom closet, on Oct. 17, 2009 after a "particularly painful week of bullying," states a release the Longs issued after they filed suit.
The school system's answer denies specific facts in the Longs' account of a November 2007 altercation at school but states that students involved "were assigned multiple days of in-school suspension" and information about the incident was turned over to law enforcement.
In numerous other allegations of bullying listed in the Longs' lawsuit the school system contends it acted appropriately and investigations into the incidents either found too little information to substantiate claims or "determined no such incidents ever occurred," records show.
In March, Mrs. Long said that Tyler had had a "great summer" in 2009.
"He had a job, he had a car, he had karate, he could sleep, he could get up and go to work," she said. "He was so excited because school started a month late. That was the best thing in the world for him."
But "when school started, we noticed he was a lot more upset and depressed," she said.
"It's a system issue, from the school board to the superintendent and on down," she said. "He did get some good things here and there, but did he get what he needed? No, he did not."
Mr. Long is even more direct.
"Protective measures weren't put in place, end of story," he said.
Staff writer Kelly Jackson contributed to this story.