A Pittsburgh-area school with a history of racial tension created a culture of verbal abuse and excessive force that allowed resource officers to shock students with stun guns and body-slam them, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit by the guardians of five black former students of Woodland Hills High School also says school administrators “intentionally discriminated” against students because of their race and filed false charges to cover up abuse.
The suit seeks compensatory damages and legal fees from the defendants, named as the district, the Churchill borough government, a security contractor and six individuals, including a former principal, two school resource officers and the district superintendent.
In April, the Allegheny County district attorney said he was reviewing allegations that Steve Shaulis, a resource officer at the school, punched and knocked out the tooth of a 14-year-old freshman accused of stealing another’s student cellphone. Pictures of the freshman’s bruised face appeared online.
In May, video surfaced of Shaulis body-slamming a 15-year-old student in 2015 and shocking him with a stun gun.