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The parents of a 10-year-old fourth grade student who died by suicide in May are suing the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation for wrongful death, alleging the school failed to protect their son from the bullying he experienced.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Hancock County Circuit Court, recounts the alleged abuse, assault, and terror Sammy Teusch went through at the hands of school bullies and the “callous indifference” exhibited by defendants who were repeatedly informed of the situation.
“Sammy’s abusers urged him to hang himself; they chased him, stalked him, punched him, choked him – all while school officials for months callously dismissed and disregarded Sammy’s pleas for protection,” said Brian Grossman, co-counsel for the Teusch family, in a news release. “This suit is about more than holding the Greenfield School Corporation accountable, it’s about making sure no child ever experiences what Sammy experienced – and no family again experiences the heartbreak the Teusch family can now never escape.”
The suit stated that the defendants “were repeatedly informed about the bullying of Sammy Teusch (“Sammy”) by students under the District’s supervision, and yet did nothing to address it.”
Greenfield-Central Superintendent Harold Olin did not respond to Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment before Tuesday’s deadline.
The plaintiffs claimed their son’s complaints to his teacher about the bullying “fell upon deaf ears” and that, when Sammy would flip his desk or hide under his desk to draw attention to the bullying, “his teacher’s only response was to discipline Sammy for what she perceived to be disruptive conduct.”
The fourth grade student faced months of abuse from a group of his classmates, who would reportedly choke him until he “saw stars” and make fun of his teeth and glasses, according to the lawsuit.
The filing describes one instance where a student allegedly hit Teusch so hard in the head with an iPad that it broke his glasses and gave him a black eye, and another instance where a group of students locked Teusch in a bathroom.
Approximately 20 reports were made in person and by phone by Teusch’s parents to their son’s teachers, principal, and counselor asking for Sammy’s protection and safety, the lawsuit stated.
The couple said Sammy moved to the Greenfield school district in November 2022 and that he’d never had problems with bullies at his previous schools.
“Sammy was smart, funny, quick to make friends, knew no strangers, meant no harm to anyone, and had the biggest heart along with the best smile,” said Sam Teusch, Sammy’s dad, in a news release. “And it seems that made him an easy target and easy for school officials to dismiss and disregard him – and we can’t let the world be like that.”
In addition to a wrongful death charge, the plaintiffs are also suing the defendants for negligent care and supervision.
The plaintiffs have requested a jury trial.
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