Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 4-19-16 Edition

Features
Teacher Resigns Over Questionnaire Given To Students
Parents Of Girls Who Drowned In Car Hire Attorney
On March 31st, the tragic deaths of 16-year-old Do- minique Battle, 15-year- old Ashaunti Butler, and 15-year-old Laniya Miller left their families devastated.
What hurt the families even more was the callous re- porting of the incident by Pinellas County Sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, who along with area broadcast media sources, wasted no time por- traying the three teenagers as criminals.
Laniya Miller’s mother, Natasha Winkler, and Do- minique Battle’s mother, Yaschica Clemmons, have hired Attorney Michele Whitfield to find out exactly what happened, and why so many accounts of what hap- pened, lack consistency.
“Laniya’s family is in Wisconsin, where she will be laid to rest,” said Atty. Whitfield.
“We’re doing our own in- vestigation, and it appears the girls may have had per- mission to use the car, and it wasn’t stolen.
“We also want to know since the girls had committed no criminal act, why they at- tracted so much attention from law enforcement where a helicopter and an un- marked vehicle were used to track them at 3 a.m.?”
Atty. Whitfield said she, along with the parents, be- lieve the girls were fright- ened, and nothing has been released by law enforcement that indicates they had any criminal intent.
“No one can imagine how grieving parents felt to not just get the news their daugh- ters were dead, but to hear them being disrespected by law enforcement.
“Sheriff Gualtieri didn’t even get Laniya’s past record report accurate.”
Atty. Whitfield said they are also upset about an article printed in a publication say- ing there was never any real effort to rescue the girls.
“Ms. Winkler and Ms. Clemmons have both said they are tired of constantly having to defend their daugh- ters.
“Ms. Winkler said she’s tired of hearing all the nega- tive things about the girls, and it seems no one is look- ing at this as a tragedy. The inconsistencies of the way the incident has been recorded, and the fact that it didn’t have to end that way makes it impossible for either mother
to deal with.”
Atty. Whitfield said their
position is the girls were joyriding, didn’t steal the car, and were never any threat to law enforcement or anyone else.
Statement From The Office Of Attorney Michele Whitfield
A release from the office of
Attorney Michele Whit- field says there are audio tapes that reveal new details about Dominique Battle, Ashaunti Butler, and Laniya Miller, who drowned in a St. Petersburg pond.
In the release it states: “Five hours after the mothers of Laniya Miller and Do- minique Battle spoke for the first time since their daughters’ deaths, new de- tails were revealed about their final moments. In a re- port, the suspicions of the parents were confirmed. The deputies on scene failed to try to save the girls who were struggling to get out of the sinking car. On that same day, a Tampa woman also crashed into a pond, but in that case, four strangers got out of their vehicles and pulled her to safety. So, why was it so hard for these law enforcement officers to pro- tect and serve? It is our belief that the deputies believed these children deserved to die.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, it took five minutes for the car to sink. The audio tapes prove that the deputies watched the car sink while a helicopter circled above. If deputies were not chasing the alleged stolen car, why was the helicopter present during
the moment the car crashed into the water? These very in- consistencies are preventing the families from finding clo- sure. We strongly encourage you to request these audio tapes the surveillance video from Wal-Mart, and any dash cam video showing their final moments. Help us hold law enforcement accountable. These children did not de- serve to die.”
ASHAUNTI BUTLER
ATTORNEY MICHELE WHITFIELD
DOMINIQUE BATTLE
Dominique Battle’s mother, Yaschica
Clemmons.
LANIYA MILLER
Laniya’s Mother, Natasha
Winkler.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
A Hillsborough County teacher under investigation about a questionnaire given to her students has resigned. Ms. Yoselis Ramos, 23, submit- ted her letter of resignation last Thursday. She was a first-year Spanish teacher.
Ms. Ramos was removed from the school and was placed on a paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The form was part of a les- son on inequality and was a classroom assignment. It was given to students in 7th and 8th grade. Ms. Ramos never col- lected the questionnaire from the students. It asked such per- sonal questions as race, sexual preference, skin color, religion, and other personal informa- tion.
The Hillsborough County School District’s Office of Pro- fessional Standards launched an investigation after two par- ents complained about the questionnaire.
The incident came to light after two parents went to Mon-
MS. YOSELIS RAMOS ... First year teacher
roe Middle School the day after the students were asked to complete the questionnaire and notified Principal Peter Megara. After learning about the assignment, he notified parents using a recorded mes- sage.
Ms. Tanya Arja,
spokesperson for the Hillsbor- ough County School District, said Mr. Megara had no knowledge of the form. She further said the School District doesn’t collect this type of in- formation because it could put students in an uncomfortable position.
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