OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — An altercation at Merrill Middle School led to several arrestsearlier this month and those involved are now sharing their stories of what happened and what they think could have been done differently.
Charlotte Fletcher said the trouble began after her daughter got into a fight with a group of students who had been bullying her at recess. After hearing about it, Fletcher said she came to the scene with a group of friends and family, leading to an altercation with school officials and police she believes "everybody handled wrong."
Although officials tried to keep them out, Fletcher said she and her family made their way into the school when she saw her daughter being chased and eventually grabbed.
“Everybody was just really upset," she said. "We don’t know who these people are, who are you to tackle or hold my daughter down?”
Fletcher said she and her family, who were all unarmed, then got into an altercation with police and school staff and were eventually arrested. As a result, Fletcher now faces charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer.
She admits she crossed some lines in the altercation but says everything she did was to protect her daughter.
“The only reason I was at that school was to save my child," said Fletcher. "Parents sometimes let our anger get the best of us when it comes to our children. It doesn’t make us bad parents.”
Fletcher's daughter said she feels the administration didn't properly handle her complaints of being bullied leading up to the incident.
“I don’t think they handled it right at all, because there’s been issues with these same people previously," she said. "I addressed that with the assistant principal and she said she thought it was over when the problem was never solved.”
In response, the school administration sent out an email saying "The OASD has no knowledge of any allegations of bullying not being fully investigated and addressed."
The district went on to say "This situation resulted in the assault of a school staff member and an altercation with law enforcement officials; as well as restraining orders being filed."
Fletcher said her daughter is facing expulsion over the incident, and she has withdrawn her from the school.
