{"id":33094,"date":"2023-07-04T20:20:12","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T02:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/junior-high-principal-reportedly-gave-student-concussion\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:06:07","slug":"junior-high-principal-reportedly-gave-student-concussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/junior-high-principal-reportedly-gave-student-concussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior high principal reportedly gave student concussion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The legal team for the victim\u2019s family has requested that San Juan County District Attorney Rick Tedrow bring criminal charges against Mize.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The family of a teenager, who was reportedly \u201csmacked\u201d in the head by his junior high principal, has filed a lawsuit against Colin Mize, Mesa Alta Junior High School and the Bloomfield School District.<\/p>\n

Natasha Gifford, of Bloomfield, filed the lawsuit as the parent of Jonathan Perdomo, who on May 13, 2022, was reportedly \u201cstruck\u201d in the neck during lunch at the school, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Now, Gifford\u2019s and Perdomo\u2019s attorney, Arlon Stoker, in a June 27 letter to San Juan County District Attorney Rick Tedrow has requested criminal charges be brought against Mize.<\/p>\n

Stoker stated Mize as \u201can adult in a position of authority striking a child in the head with enough force to cause a concussion is not a joking matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further said he had \u201ccopies of all known video recording of interviews should someone from your office care to review them.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Bloomfield Police Department originally investigated Mize in May 2022 for alleged child abuse and possible assault, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker declined to prosecute.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there is no doubt that Mr. Mize touched Jonathan Gifford (Perdomo), the criminal charge of battery required the touching be done in a rude, insolent or angry manner,\u201d Decker wrote in a letter to the Bloomfield Police Department.<\/p>\n

Through an open records request, the Tri-City Record<\/em> obtained a letter from Mize\u2019s personnel file in which he said the incident happened on May 12, 2022, which was off by one day from the original police report.<\/p>\n

In the letter, Mize wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cI had him look me in the eyes and I explained that he broke his promise to me, and that promises are words to be valued or to not say them at all. I then asked him what they would do in Lovington \u2013 he stated \u2018what?\u2019 During that time, I had him lean his head forward, and I \u2018smacked\u2019 his neck. This was not done in an aggressive manner \u2013 he was not offended by this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mize also said in the letter that his actions might \u201cseem malicious and hurtful,\u201d but he was in a situation that \u201cwas built on trust, relational capacity and mutual understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witnesses to the incident told police the child \u201cwas hit hard enough that his entire body jolted forward,\u201d according to a Bloomfield police report dated May 18, 2022. The report was written by Detective J. Swenk, whom Stoker referred to in his letter to the DA\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Stoker wrote that Detective J. Swenk referred the case to the DA\u2019s office, and when Perdomo\u2019s mother asked about its status, she was told the DA\u2019s office \u201cwas waiting for video recording to properly evaluate the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stoker continued writing, saying, \u201cIt was particularly disturbing to read\u201d that the DA\u2019s office told the Tri-City Record<\/em> that \u2018the statute of limitations had possibly run, and that the case was still being evaluated.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n

Stoker said no new information has been brought forward since the alleged incident on May 13, 2022.<\/p>\n

During this time, Mize was accused of \u201cunsafe\u201d management practices when it came to both staff members and students at the school, according to a 2021-22 performance evaluation completed by Bloomfield Schools Superintendent Kimberly Mizell.<\/p>\n

The performance review said: \u201cHe did not maintain a professional rapport with staff.\u201d Mizell added that Mize needed to work on his leadership skills to ensure he was acting \u201cin a professional manner that doesn\u2019t result in grievances, unrest among staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mizell also said Mize \u201cis not at a level where he truly understands the ramifications and liability levels if he proceeds<\/p>\n

<\/strong>in way that will get him trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

These comments not only addressed actions toward staff members, but also toward students.<\/p>\n

\u201cReflect on current practices that have resulted in unsafe situations in relation to appropriate level of staff monitoring student\u2019s behaviors,\u201d she wrote in the performance evaluation.<\/p>\n

Evidence in the court case showed that Mize received a letter of reprimand dated May 17, 2022, from Mizell. In the letter, Mizell said Mize \u201ctapped the back of the student\u2019s head as a form of jest,\u201d not intending to \u201ccause him harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, a witness, Ashlee Daniels, who worked as a long-term substitute computer teacher, witnessed the incident and reported to both the New Mexico Public Education Department and the Bloomfield Police Department that what Mize did was more than a tap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw Student 1 (Perdomo) look down and Mr. M took his left hand and whacked Student 1 on the back of the head. Student 1\u2019s head did jolt forward with force,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n

The court case alleges \u201cafter the incident, the child began to suffer head and neck pain\u201d for which he not only received medical care, but also \u201cunderwent several weeks of physical therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case further said: \u201cThe child experienced<\/p>\n

<\/strong>pain and suffering, humiliation, and embarrassment, and incurred medical bills for treatment of the injuries inflicted by the defendants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mize, through his attorney Gerald A. Coppler, said in court documents that he \u201cadmits that the alleged events giving rise to the complaint occurred in San Juan County, New Mexico, but denies that the events as alleged in the complaint occurred as they are described herein.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coppler also wrote that Mize \u201cfurther denies that he caused harm and injuries to the plaintiff student,\u201d or that he \u201cinflicted injuries on the child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mize \u201cadmits the allegations \u2026 that he was disappointed with the child because of the incident in class and told the child to put his head down and admits that he tapped him lightly on the neck,\u201d Coppler wrote in response to the allegations.<\/p>\n

Coppler alleged Perdomo\u2019s injuries were not caused by Mize, but \u201cwere the direct and proximate result of his own actions or negligence and\/or actions or negligence of other parties and not due to any action or inaction of the defendant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bloomfield School District, through its attorney Carlos M. Quinones, said neither the school nor the district could be sued, because only the \u201clocal school board has capacity to sue or be sued.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quinones also wrote that the district \u201cdenies plaintiff is entitled to any of the relief requested,\u201d because it was the child\u2019s \u201cown negligence, misconduct, and or conduct acts or omissions, which conduct either bars plaintiff\u2019s claims or reduces their claims in an amount to be determined at trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coppler demanded \u201ca twelve-person jury\u201d trial for the defendant Mize, and it was set to occur at 8 a.m. April 29, 2024, by District Court Judge Sarah Weaver.<\/p>\n

Attorneys say the trial is expected to last five days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawsuit cites humiliation, medical bills, pain and suffering; Colin Mize denies allegations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1222,133,3665,28,3666],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-33094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bloomfield","tag-courts","tag-eleventh-district-court","tag-headlines","tag-mesa-alta-junior-high"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82046,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33094\/revisions\/82046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33094"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=33094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}