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Arizona Bus Driver and Student Throw Down - Caught on Tape
By Jeff | March 1, 2008
Wow! Have you seen this video?
My wife was watching one of her news shows when I got home one day and this story came on. A school bus security video had been released showing an argument between the driver and a student escalate beyond control. An Arizona school bus driver and the 15-year old Samantha Taylor apparently get into a scuffle. It’s unclear the full extent of the ‘fight’ because it seems to mostly occur under the visual range of the bus security camera. However, if you watch the full version you can see how something stupid can escalate into insanity.
Here is the full version. It’s about ten minutes long.
If all you want to see is the ‘heat of the battle’, then watch this two minute video of the end.
I’ll be honest. I think both parties acted irresponsibly - not that I’m releasing some great revelation to you. That goes without saying. The 2-year old in the body of a 15-year old student was being a little bi-atch (if you know what I’m saying). It’s funny how youth think they are bigger than the world and that they can do anything they want and get away with it simply because they are minors. I can’t be too harsh, I guess. I was one of those too. I’m just glad there were no video phones or security cameras during my stupidity. Samantha Taylor over-reacted and threw a temper tantrum worse than my 4 yr old. May God have mercy on my soul, if my sons do anything like this. The wrath of Daddy ThinkBox would be swift and strong.
I’m not exactly on the side of the bus driver either. Obviously, we don’t know how a one-to-one conversation would have resolved the issue because that didn’t happen. I mean, the bus driver couldn’t just let her out on the streets. That’s probably where she will end up anyway. Turning some tricks on 4th and Main St. If I can quote Larry the Cableguy here, “Lord, I apologize… and be with the Pigmys in New Guinea.” That wasn’t very nice and not every unruly teenage girl with an attitude is going to end up a prostitute. Although, sometimes I wish Karma actually worked that way.
The bus driver should have either talked to the girls mother and explained what was going on then explain that she can’t simply let her off the bus in the middle of (wherever they were). Surely both would have understood the legal and rational ramifications of doing so. But as you can see, the bus driver chose to push the teen back in an attempt to get her back to her seat then at one point during the escalation grasped the teen by the neck or head. As an adult, regardless of the actions of others, your cooler head must prevail especially when at work.
Ultimately, charges need to be filed on both parties and it appears that is exactly what is being presented by law enforcement. If that’s the case, then justice will be done. There is no point to take sides on this one. The student was wrong the entire time and the bus driver was wrong most of the time. My personal opinion is that both parties should be taught a very good lesson in civility. May God punish the girl’s parents if they get ‘too’ protective of their child. Check out this interview of Samantha Taylor who claims she didn’t do anything wrong. Yeah, I know.
Basically, we have Miss Attitude meets Mrs. Can’t-take-it-anymore. The end result is a fight between a minor and an adult, probably a lawsuit, and hopefully a plethora of charges to all involved. What are your thoughts on this? Are you on the side of the student or the bus driver? Or, are you like me and feel both should be punished legally?
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Topics: arizona bus driver student brawl, bus fight video, samantha taylor, school bus fight |
March 1st, 2008 at 7:59 am
But do you think the bus driver had the right to physically restrain the girl from leaving the bus? If so, then physically restraining someone can sometimes get ugly…
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March 1st, 2008 at 11:22 am
That Samantha is a brat and then tries to play off her ‘problems’ with her own kind of irrational rationalization in her interview.
March 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
You know, funny you post this, because our close friend works for this school and we talked about it a bit on Tuesday night in this little bible study we have in our house.
The thing is, that driver was screwed either way. She couldn’t let the kid off because if she did, she’d get in HUGE trouble if something happened. And so she held her ground and the teen threw a temper-tantrum and it escalated.
Here is what I really think:
Kids today get away with too much, they are protected with umpteen amount of legal rules, that teachers cannot do ANYTHING anymore without getting in trouble. They can’t discipline or even look at a kid wrong.
Our friend tells us all the time how even the principal gets cussed at by kids because they know no one can touch them.
This teacher (and I don’t want to watch this, I just heard what happened) probably should be commended for sticking to her guns, although the fight was too much.
Just sad this world we live in that handcuffs teachers and faculty. Our kids will never learn responsibility after being so spoiled rotten.
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March 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
You can also hear the bus driver’s daughter say something like, “Mom, get off her.” So that is why I think both should be punished.
But, yeah, teens definitely think they have a sense of entitlement because laws have become more strict on schools and school leaders.
In an ideal world, I would have liked to see the bus driver use a little more self control. Sometimes a girl with an attitude problem can definitely push a button or two and rational thought goes out the window.
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 am
That’s some really crazy stuff. It’s amazing (in a negative way) how disrespectful kids are these days.
For the bus driver, it’s a tough situation to have to face when you’re the only adult with a load of kids. I wouldn’t want to be in her situation, and honestly, I’m not sure as to what I’d do if I was put in it. Still, there’s no excuse for the physical assault done.
BTW, I love the blog redesign
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March 3rd, 2008 at 11:28 am
It is a tough situation. You can’t tell exactly what happens under the camera, so it might be possible she was defending herself. However, it appears that both the student and the bus driver are being charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated assault. I’m definitely okay with that as long as both charges stick.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
I have no idea what made the bus driver initially start talking to that “innocent girl”, but regardless of the reason, that child was completely out of line. The entire incident would have easily been resolved had she sat back down. It’s that simple.
Granted, the bus driver shouldn’t have put her hands on her, but she needed to stop her from getting off the bus somehow.
Personally, I would have stood in front of the camera, facing away from her and the other students using myself as a barrier to stop her from leaving. The child could have screamed and had a tantrum all she wanted to all she wanted to.
As for her daughter, kudos to her for stepping up and doing what her mother couldn’t do. Not that I condone violence but clearly Miss Taylor has no concept of what an authority figure is.
It’s sad that the other kids on the bus seemed to be ok with her actions. In my day, we all would have been screaming at her, telling her to sit the Eff down so we all could get home. Instead, these little twerps were encouraging her to continue on and on and on and on.
And what the deal with the kid in the end claiming the bus driver had gone insane. Another sign of a child who has no clue.
It’s beyond sad that those children are our future.
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March 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
That seems to coincide with reports that Samantha Taylor wasn’t supposed to be on that bus to begin with. I think she was going home with a friend or whatever. Still… for the child’s protection, it’s best to allow that as little as possible.
Too bad the bus driver didn’t catch it before she drove away from the school or maybe all of this could have been avoided. Not that I’m blaming the bus driver for missing it. It just would have been better - obviously.
Nonetheless, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The future is not looking so bright - in Arizona anyway.
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
When I was in school and rode the bus our bus driver knew every single kid that was supposed to be on the bus. If you were bringing a friend home you had to have a note saying that they could ride home on the bus with you. It was the same if I rode on someone else’s bus. I guess they don’t do that anymore or don’t follow that protocol everywhere, but it worked really well at our school and we never had problems like that.
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March 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
March 7th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
@Jason A. Clark:
Actually, the bus driver could not let Samantha leave the bus because it’s her job to make sure each child gets off at their stop safely.
March 9th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I agree with that. I was just making my point that if Jeff agrees that the bus driver had to physically restrain the girl from leaving the bus then it was bound to get ugly… I’m not sure how responsibly the bus driver can be for using force to keep the girl on the bus if that’s what she’s supposed to do. At what point did she use too much?
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