Speaking in Orlando, DeSantis said educators in Brevard County were “wrong” to tie a mask onto the 7-year-old student and called the move a violation of state policy. Indeed, DeSantis banned school mask mandates in July.
“She was not treated right,” DeSantis said. “That school district was not following state policy. That’s just a fact.”
The issue is, however, a recently released police report widely contradicts the account of the student’s parents and calls the claims “unfounded.”
“There was no evidence presented which supports that (the student) received a physical or emotional injury,” according to a news report by Florida Today, which first published the update.
The Indian Harbor police report disputes claims that the student was unable to breathe and in distress while wearing the mask. It also states that the parents staged photos of the incident based on the 7-year-old’s memory of the event.
DeSantis, who spoke alongside the family at a previous press conference, shrugged Monday at the discrepancies.
“People are making a big deal saying the police didn’t think they should bring charges — I never said anything about criminal charges,” DeSantis told reporters when asked about the report.
“I don’t get hung up on some of these policies, whether someone should be prosecuted or not, because I don’t know all the individual facts,” DeSantis added.
Instead, DeSantis highlighted that the school district was violating the state order against mask mandates and the parent’s wishes.
“I do think it was wrong to do what they did to a girl who clearly had every reason to not have that happen to her,” DeSantis added.
The Governor’s remarks came after he announced a pay raise for state law enforcement.
This article first appeared at Florida Politics.
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This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2021.
