Updated 01/13/2010 06:10 AM
Mother says staff member choked her son
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The mother of an 11-year-old Syracuse elementary school student claims her son was choked to the point of unconsciousness at an after school program.
Natasha Felder claims her son, Najile, was at the Northeast Community Center after school Monday when a staff member, who is also a Syracuse City School District employee, choked him. Felder says her son was unconscious for about 30 seconds after a staff member picked him up by the neck. She says the staff member told her it was just "horse play."
"I was talking to my friend, then all the sudden the teacher walked up behind me, grabbed me by the neck and then he lifts me up in the air and I was dangling and he said, 'better tell you friend to stop hitting me and then I'll let you go.' They said that I passed out, I slid out his arms and they tried to pick me up and put me in a chair," said Najile.
"The police are here now and they just did a basic report. And they're investigating it thoroughly, I guess, to see what else can be done to ensure that it doesn't happen again," said Natasha Felder.
X-rays showed no injuries to the child.
Syracuse Police are looking into the allegations. The Northeast Community Center and the Syracuse City School District are also investigating.