Student Says Guard School Crippled Him

CLAYTON, Mo. (CN) - A high school security guard did a knee drop on a student's chest, rupturing a ventricle in his heart, the student claims in court.

Damontae Woods sued the Normandy School District and James Walls, in St. Louis County Court.

Woods says he was a student in Normandy High School on Oct. 21, 2011 when Woods restrained him without cause, threw him on the ground and did the knee drop.

Woods' attorney Robert Herman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in November that Woods and another student were loitering in a hallway and were late for class when Walls started chasing them. Walls allegedly chased Woods outside of the school, tackled him to the asphalt, drove a knee into his chest and handcuffed him.

Woods' mother, Evelyn Woods, told the Post-Dispatch at the time that her 5-foot-1-inch, 120-lb., 18-year-old son was healthy before the incident.

In his complaint, Woods claims Walls violated state law and Normandy School District policies, and that the district failed to train its Walls properly.

Woods seeks actual and punitive damages for unreasonable arrest and force, failure to properly train security guards, false arrest and imprisonment and assault and battery.

He is represented by Robert Herman, with Schwartz, Herman & Davidson of.

Normandy, which has an enrollment of more than 5,000 in grades K-12, is in north St. Louis County.

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