School Bus Staff Arrested For Allegedly Shaking, Hitting Child

LAKELAND, FL — Brenda Nelson, 65, will be arraigned Saturday after she was arrested by Polk County deputies because they say she abused a child with special needs while working as a bus attendant for Doris Sanders Learning Center in Lakeland.

Nelson verbally threatened the student, struck her multiple times and shook her head by the hair, the sheriff's office said. Officials reviewed video of the incidents after a citizen, who was not on the bus, said she saw the abuse.

"I guess I done it. I didn't remember hitting her," Nelson told police, according to an affidavit. ""I must have just lost it. I don't remember doing that. I would never hit one of those kids."

The student has an epileptic conditions and severe mobility restrictions, officials said. They said Nelson's actions could have caused her "physical and mental injury."

At one point in the video, Nelson told the student, "I'm gonna slap that tongue out of your mouth when I get up there," according to the official response.

Nelson told the deputies that the student is often disruptive toward the other students, frequently bangs on the window and tries to leave her seat. Officials said that they did not witness these behaviors when reviewing footage of the bus ride.

The student rides in a restrictive harness on the bus.

The school board said Nelson has worked for the county since 1983. He annual salary is about $18,400.

"Our children are the single most precious thing on this earth," Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd said in a statement. "At Polk County Public Schools, our most important job is to protect them, to provide them with a safe environment in which they can grow, learn and thrive."

She continued: "This employee squandered the trust of the children and families in her care. She does not embody the values of Polk County Public Schools, and I will not tolerate it. I have instructed my HR staff to immediately begin the process of termination."

Correction: This story originally said Nelson appeared in court Friday morning. She will appear before a judge Saturday.

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images