Tuscumbia City Schools has concluded its internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident on August 15 that left student August Borden with severe injuries.
Tuscumbia City Schools Superintendent Russ Tate told The Times Daily that the findings "were similar to those of the Madison County District Attorney's Office."
August Borden's father, Jason, who continues to pursue his son's case, said he doubted the school's investigation.
"The goal of any internal investigation is to protect that internal agency and clear it of any wrongdoing," he told 1819 News. "Was the law firm hired and paid by the school to investigate themselves objectively looking for a reason to condemn the person writing the check? Unlikely. But, I look forward to reviewing their findings, should that ever be made available to the public."
1819 News reached out to Tate on Tuesday for an update about the investigation but did not receive a response.
On August 15, August Borden was airlifted to a Birmingham hospital after suffering traumatic head injuries while walking to football practice. Borden's parents were initially told another student was responsible for their son's injuries, though school officials later said they were the result of an accidental fall. In early September, the Tuscumbia City Schools Board of Education said it would contract with an outside attorney to investigate the incident and the school's response.
Madison County District Attorney Robert Broussard, who took over the official investigation after Colbert County District Attorney Hal Hughston recused himself, confirmed on October 8 that another student was involved. However, he said he would press charges, deeming the matter a case of rough horseplay gone wrong.
"In my opinion, this is a classic case of 'we've investigated ourselves and determined we've done nothing wrong." But the fact is, they did do something wrong — they allowed a student to assault my child, to the point of being seconds away from being pronounced dead — had someone not been there to provide life-saving CPR," Jason Borden said. "No one was punished for this, no one was held to any sort of accountability."
Jason Borden feels the school system failed his son by not holding the student responsible for his injuries.
"I can't help but think how August feels knowing that this school system completely failed him. The school system that thousands of parents' hard-earned tax dollars go to support," he continued. "By all means, this should be a moment where you have every right in the world to lose faith in humanity. But not for August. And it's all thanks to our supporters all over the world. People with the emotional intelligence to put themselves in our shoes, and people with the cognitive ability to immediately see through the obvious small-town cover-up and deceit that runs rampant in Tuscumbia, Alabama. A special thank you to Texas A&M, the moderators of What's Happening in Tuscumbia, Alabama, on Facebook, and our friend Terrence Wren for being the voice of the voiceless."
Lawyers for Borden's family, Kristin K. Stamps and Shane Sears, released a statement on October 10 saying the family would not stop seeking justice and answers for what happened to their son.
"This is still far from over. I anticipate a civil case that will take several months, if not years to resolve. We will ultimately get to the bottom of what happened on August 19 at Deshler High School," Jason Borden said.
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