Tyler ISD staff arrested for taping special needs student’s hands

TYLER – According to our news partner, KETK, an arrest affidavit for three Tyler ISD staff members has shed new details on an incident in which a student’s hands were bound with tape, and they were forced to walk for hours.

Documents obtained from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office show that Tyler High School administration contacted the Tyler ISD police department to request camera footage from the Life Skills room on March 12. An administration staff member stated that the incident likely occurred in the afternoon, as the student’s hands were still red when he got off the bus. They also mentioned speaking with an aide in the room, who indicated that the incident occurred before lunch, but was unsure how long the student’s hands had been taped.

The room is equipped with cameras that record both audio and video, the affidavit said. Upon reviewing the footage, officials were able to identify the student, who has Down syndrome and “other mental disabilities.”

The footage obtained from March 12 shows a teacher dropping off the student at around 11:30 a.m., after which the student is immediately made to walk in circles around the desk in the room. The teacher speaks to Krystina Haas, another teacher, before exiting the room.

At the time of the incident, two other students and two paraprofessionals, June Tryon and Priscilla Gutierrez, were in the room.

An officer with Tyler ISD recounted what he witnessed in the video:

“As I watched the video, [the student] continued to walk around the desk in a circle, passing Haas’s desk each time he made a lap,” the affidavit said. “I could tell that Haas and he would exchange words almost each time he passed. [The student] was made to continuously walk around the room. When he slowed down, Mrs. Haas would advise him that she did not tell him to slow down.”

At around 1:20 p.m., while still walking, the student and Haas spoke. When he reached the other side of the room, Haas reportedly told Tryon to “get the tape.” Tryon, according to the video, walked across the room and retrieved packing tape from a cabinet.

“Tryon then used the packing tape to tape up both of [the student’s] hands individually so that his fingers could not move,” the affidavit stated. “The second paraprofessional in the room then got up and got the scissors and cut the tape for Tryon so she could finish wrapping [the student’s] hands.”

At 1:52 p.m., Haas reportedly got up and added more tape to [the student’s] left hand to make it tighter. The student then continued walking until around 2:02 p.m. According to the affidavit, he had walked a total of two hours and 32 minutes. Haas then made the student stop walking and cleared some space in the corner of the room, where she reportedly made the student stand with his hands on the wall in a position that looked “like he is standing in a position like he is going to be searched.”

The student was made to stand in the corner until around 3:46 p.m., when Haas cut the tape off his hands so he could leave on time to catch the bus. The student stood in the corner for about an hour and 44 minutes and his hands were taped for about two hours and 24 minutes.

“During this time frame, Haas would curse at [the student] and make other comments to him. You could also hear Tryon speaking to him, being demeaning. Gutierrez sits at her desk and appears to crochet,” the affidavit said.