WEST POINT, Utah (KTRK) -- A Utah mother is suing a school bus driver who she says intentionally dragged her son. She claims the bus driver did it because he's racist.Video from the school bus shows the 14-year-old's backpack get stuck in the doors as he exits. The bus starts moving, dragging him for several feet as students look on.In a civil rights lawsuit, the teen's mother claims he was targeted because he is biracial. "I was glad he didn't kill him. I was glad he didn't go under the wheels," said the boy's mother.When asked if he considered himself to be racist, the driver said, "Not at all. Look at my dog. He's as black as can be. "The driver says he didn't see the boy and would have stopped if he did.The school district terminated the driver, saying they take any claims of racial discrimination seriously.<doc-sep>Horrific surveillance video from a school bus in suburban Utah shows the driver appear to intentionally close the door on a biracial student, trapping his backpack inside the bus while leaving him dangling outside and dragging him about 175 feet. The incident took place on February 4 of this year in front of West Point Junior High School in Davis County, Utah. The 14-year-old boy, a seventh grader at the school, was one of the students being taken to class that morning, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. As the bus pulled into the school’s front driveway at 7:59am, the boy is seen filing out of the bus with his classmates. A 14-year-old biracial boy (wearing the red backpack in the image above) was dragged by a school bus in front of his junior high school in suburban Utah this past February The boy was stepping off the bus in front of West Point Junior High School in Davis County on February 4 As the boy was about to get off the bus, the driver appeared to intentionally shut the door on him, trapping his backpack and leaving his body dangling on the outside The driver then proceeded to hit the gas and drive the bus about 175 feet, dragging the boy, who was dangerously close to the front right wheel But when the boy reaches the last step before exiting the bus, the driver, John Naisbitt, apparently places his hand on a lever used to open and close the door. The door shuts with the boy’s backpack on the inside of the bus and the boy’s body dangling outside, dangerously close to the bus’s front right tire, according to KUTV-TV. A line of about five students is standing behind the boy waiting to leave when the door shuts on him. The students yell for the driver to stop, but the bus keeps going for close to 20 seconds. The boy’s mother, Brenda Mayes, filed a lawsuit against the school district and the driver, Naisbitt, on behalf of her son, who is not named. Mayes says that Naisbitt was acting out of racial hatred toward her son. She also alleges that the school district failed to discipline the driver even though there had been previous complaints about her behavior. John Naisbitt (above), the driver of the bus, denied accusations he was racist, saying: 'Look at my dog. He's as black as could be' The image above provided by the lawyer for the boy's mother shows where she claims her son was initially dropped off (bottom) and the point to which he was dragged by the bus (top) Naisbitt is alleged to have closed the school bus door on two other biracial boys. The lawsuit claims Naisbitt called students ‘stupid’ and ‘idiots’. On one occasion, Naisbitt failed to stop a white girl from assaulting a younger Asian girl, the lawsuit alleges. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Naisbitt retired from his job as a bus driver. Mayes obtained the video from the Davis School District, which is also named in the lawsuit, and disseminated it to the news media. ‘I couldn’t even comprehend how it could happen,’ Mayes told reporters in Utah on Tuesday during a news conference at her lawyer’s office. ‘I was blown away. I was angry. ‘I was glad he didn’t kill him... I was glad he didn’t go under the wheel.’ Mayes spoke as her 14-year-old son and his younger brother stood in the back of the room. ‘The driver knew what he was doing,’ the boy’s mother said. Mayes was outraged that the school district did not fire Naisbitt after the alleged assault against her son. ‘Something failed,’ Mayes said. The boy's mother, Brenda Mayes, filed a lawsuit against Naisbitt and the Davis School District alleging that the incident was part of a pattern of racist behavior and bullying ‘They have a responsibility when I send [my kids] off to school, they have a responsibility to make sure they are safe.’ Naisbitt denied that he was a racist, telling KSTU-TV: ‘Look at my dog. He’s as black as could be.’ He told the TV station that he drove the bus forward because there were eight other buses behind his. Naisbitt claims that the lawsuit is the family’s way of retaliating against him after he disciplined the boy’s brother. ‘I didn’t see him in there,’ Naisbitt said. ‘If I had, I would have stopped.’ In a statement, the school district said: ‘The Davis School District takes any claims of racial discrimination seriously and does not tolerate any form of racial discrimination in our schools.’ The lawsuit is demanding unspecified damages.<doc-sep>Disturbing video shows a 13-year-old boy's backpack getting caught in the doors of his school bus, then being dragged nearly 175 feet as the bus drove away. Now his mother is suing the Utah school district, saying the bus driver intentionally dragged her child because he's biracial. Brenda Mayes claims that the Davis School District bus driver has had a history of "racial animus" towards biracial children, and that animus almost led to her child being seriously injured, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday with the U.S District Court Northern Utah Division. Video given to NBC News by Mayes' attorney shows the incident from February in which Mayes' son was departing the bus at West Point Junior High, roughly 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, when the doors closed on his backpack. The bus then moves, dragging the boy for what Mayes' lawsuit estimated to be 150 to 175 feet. Mayes claims in her lawsuit that her son was subjected to racial discrimination, harassment, assault and bullying by the bus driver in violation of Title IX and Fourteenth Amendment protections. The district, the county's transportation director and the bus driver are all named as defendants in the case. Had the boy's backpack straps broken, he "would have dropped to the pavement and could have been run over and killed by the bus or could have sustained serious injuries by the fall onto the concrete," the lawsuit said. "He could’ve been crushed," Mayes told NBC News on Thursday. "That wheel would’ve crushed him, one turn could’ve crushed him." Mayes filed a complaint against the bus driver, John Naisbitt, but says nothing was done when she first brought up the incident with school officials. The transportation director, Dave Roberts, was dismissive of her complaints, Mayes said. Naisbitt retired while the district was investigating, according to the lawsuit. The school district confirmed in a statement he no longer worked for them. "All I wanted was them to change some type of policy," Mayes said. "Honestly got blank stares, no response, no anything." She told NBC News this is not the first such incident involving Naisbitt. In October 2018, Mayes claimed that he closed the doors on a neighbor's child, and attempted to do the same with her younger son. Her lawsuit also claims that parents made complaints about Naisbitt in 2017 after he allegedly berated the children on the bus, called them names, and refused to take them to their assigned bus stops. Davis School District said it could not comment on the lawsuit because it had not yet been served. “However, when issues of discrimination are raised at any time, they are investigated thoroughly," the district said in a statement. "The Davis School District takes any claims of racial discrimination seriously and does not tolerate any form of racial discrimination in our schools." NBC News made attempts to contact John Naisbitt, but phone numbers connected to him through public records appear to be disconnected. Naisbitt spoke to Fox13 News in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and said he didn't see the boy caught in his doors. Naisbitt said he warned kids he would be moving because other buses were lined behind him and claimed the incident was staged after he disciplined the boy's younger brother. He denied being a racist. “Not at all. No. Look at my dog. He’s as black as could be,” Naisbitt told Fox13 News.<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. 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(Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — A Utah mother is suing a former bus driver who she alleges closed the bus door on her 14-year-old biracial son’s backpack and dragged him approximately 150 feet because of his “racial animus” toward students of mixed race. Brenda Mayes’ civil rights lawsuit says her son was getting off the school bus in early February when the driver, John Naisbitt, closed the doors, trapping the boy’s backpack inside as he dangled outside. Naisbitt, 78, then drove approximately 150 to 175 feet before opening the doors and letting the boy go, the lawsuit says. Naisbitt – who is no longer employed by the district, per a spokeswoman – had previously displayed “racial animus and discriminatory conduct” toward other students of mixed race, according to the lawsuit, which cites at least two prior incidents involving other students dating back to September 2017. Reached by CNN affiliate KSTU at his home in Hooper, Utah, Naisbitt said he was “not at all” racist. “No,” he said. “Look at my dog. He’s as black as could be.” Naisbitt told KSTU he retired several days after the incident. CNN’s calls to Naisbitt were not returned. The lawsuit also names the Davis School District and its transportation director, Dave Roberts, who Mayes said ignored her concerns. The suit requests that disciplinary action be taken against Naisbitt and that criminal charges be filed. Davis School District spokeswoman Shauna Lund told CNN in a statement Friday morning, “When issues of discrimination are raised at any time, they are investigated thoroughly. The Davis School District takes any claims of racial discrimination seriously and does not tolerate any form of racial discrimination in our schools.” Lawsuit details multiple instances of alleged discrimination The incident involving Mayes’ son – identified in the lawsuit only as Child Doe – was caught on the bus camera. About a dozen students exit the bus before Child Doe steps off. As he does so, the doors of the bus close on his backpack, and the bus moves forward and continues to do so for approximately 17 seconds. The lawsuit says the bus was moving between 7 and 10 miles per hour. There are several students still in line behind Child Doe, per the video and the lawsuit. The bus comes to a stop and the doors open, freeing the boy. “Had the straps on child Does’ backpack broken,” the lawsuit says, “Doe would have dropped to the pavement and could have been run over and killed by the bus or could have sustained serious injuries by the fall onto the concrete.” Speaking to KSTU, Naisbitt denied that he intentionally closed the doors and claimed the boy staged the incident after Naisbitt disciplined his brother. “I didn’t see him in there,” Naisbitt said. “If I had, I would have stopped.” According to the lawsuit, there were at least two other instances of what it called discriminatory conduct against mixed-race students. In September 2017, the suit says, “Naisbitt took no action when a Caucasian sixth grade boy physically assaulted a third grade biracial girl on the bus.” Mayes’ son had to “stop the assault.”<doc-sep>
Photo : Spencer Platt ( Getty Images ) According to a CNN report, Brenda Mayes, a Utah mother, is suing a former driver for dragging her son outside a school bus at least 150 feet. The lawsuit cites the driver’s “racial animus” and intent to harm. Mayes describes the incident in her civil rights lawsuit. In early February, she says, her son, a 14-year-old referred to as “Child Doe,” was getting off the bus when the driver, 78-year-old John Naisbitt, closed the doors, even though there was clearly still a line of children waiting to step off the bus. When the door closed, the child’s backpack was caught inside the vehicle as his body was hanging outside. Naisbitt then drove for approximately 17 seconds, with the children still standing in the aisle witnessing the entire terrifying scene. It is unclear if the students said anything to the driver as the camera footage has no sound. Naisbitt continued to drag Child Doe, moving between 7 and 10 miles per hour, 150 to 175 feet before finally stopping the bus and opening the doors. The disturbing security camera footage can be seen below: When Naisbitt was contacted by CNN affiliate KSTU-TV at his home in Hooper, Utah, he maintained that the child had somehow staged the entire episode because the driver had disciplined the boy’s brother earlier. “I didn’t see him in there,” Naisbitt claimed. “If I had, I would have stopped.” Naisbitt insists he is “not at all” racist. He followed this claim with one of the most thinly veiled, smug forms of racism ever spoken. “No,” he said. “Look at my dog. He’s as black as could be.” He then laughed. Naisbitt told the CNN affiliate that he retired a few days after the episode on the bus, and CNN confirmed through a district spokesperson that they no longer employ him. The lawsuit against Naisbitt also names the Davis School District and Transportation Director Dave Roberts, who was said to have disregarded Mayes when she expressed her alarm. Per CNN’s reporting, she is asking not only that Naisbitt be disciplined but also that criminal charges are filed. Mayes is also seeking unspecified damages from the district and both men. Apparently this isn’t the first time Naisbitt has acted on his racism in disturbingly harmful ways. He’s said to have shown “racial animus and discriminatory conduct” against other mixed-race children. The lawsuit lists multiple prior incidents involving mixed-race students within the past two years. From CNN: In September 2017, the suit says, “Naisbitt took no action when a Caucasian sixth grade boy physically assaulted a third grade biracial girl on the bus.” Mayes’ son had to “stop the assault.” The incident was reported to the transportation department, the lawsuit says, which was overseen by Dave Roberts. In October 2018, as two mixed-race boys were getting on the bus after school, “Naisbitt intentionally closed the doors” on one of them. After finally releasing the first student, the lawsuit says, Naisbitt again tried to close the doors on the second. The first student’s parents reported the incident to Roberts, the lawsuit says. When the student’s father confronted Naisbitt the next morning, the bus driver “denied even knowing” the boy. In a statement to CNN released Friday, Shauna Lund, a spokeswoman for the school district, said: “When issues of discrimination are raised at any time, they are investigated thoroughly. The Davis School District takes any claims of racial discrimination seriously and does not tolerate any form of racial discrimination in our schools.” The lawsuit claims that had the Davis School District intervened during earlier incidents that were brought to their attention, Mayes’ son would not have been dragged by Naisbitt’s bus in February. Because the school was complicit and “ignored or deflected many complaints about the racially motivated and abusive conduct,” Naisbitt was allowed to strike again. Correction: Sept. 17, 2019, 1:50 p.m. ET: This story has been edited to remove unattributed text and to add fuller sourcing.