Wrongful-death suit filed over alleged bullying at Bossier Parish middle school
By Web staff
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BENTON, Louisiana (KTBS) — Bullying of a 14-year-old boy by some students at Benton Middle School went unchecked by school administrators and led to the boy committing suicide, a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Bossier Parish alleges.
The lawsuit by the parents of Levi Creech names 17 defendants, including the Bossier school system, some school administrators and parents of alleged bullies.
Specifics of the lawsuit are not publicly known. A Bossier District Court judge has sealed the record.
Levi Creech, a ninth grader at Benton Middle School, died last August after he shot himself. His parents had been out to dinner and his father found him after returning home.
The Creech family’s attorney, Ron Miciotto, did not return repeated calls for comment on the suit. Before it was filed, Miciotto and others familiar with the case said school administrators knew Levi was being bullied beginning in grade school but gave only lip service to concerns expressed to them by the teen and his parents.
Bossier Schools released the following statement in connection with the lawsuit: “The loss of any child is always tragic and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Creech family. Out of respect for the family, as well as the Court, we will not be discussing the details of this case due to pending litigation and because it involves a student.”
Bossier District Judge Charles Smith, who sealed the record right after the lawsuit was filed, did not publicly state his reasons for doing so. Allegations by the Creech family deal with actions by juveniles, Miciotto said before the suit was filed.
Investigators and individuals familiar with the case said alleged bullying was done in person at school, by text and by phone.
Levi’s grandmother, Sandy Templeton, who has spoken publicly on behalf of the family in the past, did not return calls for comment on the suit. She said earlier too many people do not recognize the harm being bullied can cause.
“Talk to your kids. Explain to them what bullying can do to a person,” Templeton said “Even if it is a joke, the person they’re bullying may not take it as a joke. Their heart may be different and they may take it in a different way that it hurts them and will continue to hurt them.”
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