2nd grader finds pepper spray on JMCSS school bus
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, Jackson Police Department officers knocked on Rodney Nelson’s door.
“Explaining to me that my daughter had somehow gotten ahold of some pepper spray and ended up spraying her hands and getting it in her mouth and also in her eyes,” Nelson said.
He was then taken to the bus at the corner of Lambuth Boulevard and Gordon Street. Police on scene told him another girl found the pepper spray on the bus in one of the seats.
“Them being the age that they are, misconstrued it for perfume, which is understandable with any child that age,” Nelson said.
He reached out to his daughter’s school, Arlington Elementary, and the principal told him they would check the footage on the school bus to see if they could find anything. Nelson also reached out to the JMCSS Transportation Center and was not happy with what they had to say.
“She explained to me that we’ll just make them check a little closer,” Nelson said. “That doesn’t really sit right with me because you’ve got to think about the safety of these children.”
Nelson also spoke with JMCSS Chief Operating Officer Ray Washington.
He told Nelson that drivers are supposed to check the bus before they start picking up for the next school and once the children are dropped off.
Nelson says he wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“My next step is to do anything and everything possible to make sure no child has to experience anything of this nature ever again,” Nelson said.
JMCSS says they believe this was an accident and do not believe there will be any charges filed.
