KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A manager of a small-town Dairy Queen accused of bullying a teenage employee who later killed himself was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter following a rare investigation in Missouri requested by the local coroner.
A felony complaint alleges that Harley Branham, 21, harassed the 17-year-old employee between September and Dec. 21, when he fatally shot himself outside his family's home. Branham testified during the coroner's inquest that she never bullied the boy, Kenneth Suttner, and that he seemed not to be bothered by jokes; other witnesses said he'd been bullied for years at school and at work in Fayette.
"We wanted to be very cautious and responsible," April Wilson, the special prosecutor overseeing the case, said before filing the second-degree involuntary manslaughter charge. "Both sides of the issue are extremely important. A young man is dead. But we also want to acknowledge that it's not easy being in public education."
The Howard County coroner sought an official inquest following Suttner's death, a process similar to a grand jury investigation but public. Such investigations can be sought if a coroner believes a death could be related to a continuing safety and health hazard. In this case, the coroner said he pursued the inquest to publicly acknowledge bullying as a problem.
Wilson said jurors empaneled to hear the case listened to more than six hours of testimony from nearly 20 witnesses, including Branham, before recommending the charge on Tuesday. Branham has no listed home telephone number, and online records don't show whether she has an attorney.
Jurors concluded that Branham "was the principal in the cause of death," and that Dairy Queen negligently failed to properly train employees about harassment prevention and resolution, according to the inquest's verdict form. Jurors also found that Glasgow Public Schools followed unspecified policies and procedures, saying the school district was negligent in failing to prevent bullying.
All of those factors caused the boy "to take his own life," the form read.
After the jury's decision, Wilson read a statement from Suttner's family that said they hoped the school district takes steps to address bullying. "If this can help one child at least Kenneth's death wasn't in vain," the family said.
Wilson said the school district's and Dairy Queen's alleged negligence would not lead to criminal charges but could give rise to civil actions. Dairy Queen said in a statement that a franchisee independently owns and operates the Fayette location.
"We first learned of the situation today and our thoughts and prayers are with the family," the statement said. "We are still in the process of gathering information but understand from the franchisee that the manager is no longer employed at this location."
The Columbia Daily Tribune reported that former co-workers testified that Branham repeatedly ridiculed the teen and made him perform humiliating tasks, such as cleaning the floor by hand while lying on his stomach.
During the inquest, the newspaper reported, she told jurors: "There's a lot of people at Dairy Queen saying I was the reason (he killed himself). But I don't understand why it would be that way."
The boy's best friend, Lexie Graves, testified that her friend was picked on at school for "basically everything about him," including his weight, a speech impediment and how he acted. She said she reported the bullying only once because nothing happened when it was reported.
Three parents also testified that bullying was pervasive in the district, including from some teachers, and that school leaders didn't respond to their complaints.
Glasgow School District Superintendent Mike Reynolds acknowledged on the stand that bullying occurs in the school system but insisted it wasn't systemic.
Howard County Coroner Frank Flaspohler said the inquest — only his fifth in his 24 years as coroner — was motivated by his belief that bullying needs to be publicly acknowledged as a problem. Flaspohler said the school district initially wasn't cooperative after the death, making a subpoena to the inquest a way to get them to discuss the matter.
"I felt there was bullying going on and things weren't getting corrected," Flaspohler said. "Hopefully this makes the school pay attention to what's going on. And it's not just in that school. We all need to wake up and say this exists and we need to take care of it."
The Howard County prosecutor recused himself from the case because he had connections to the school district.
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Associated Press writers Jim Suhr and Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Yes, bullying is a problem. But throwing someone under the bus after YEARS of this kid being bullied by others is ridiculous. They certainly don't care about ruining this person's life with a ridiculous, unfounded charge. They didn't even give any examples of what this person allegedly did - while talking about the bullying that occurred at school for years.
And you know what - if your boss is bullying you, file a complaint or quit. You may have to go to school, but you don't have to work that job.
If we start blaming people for suicides b/c of WORDS, then we may as well lock up a helluva lot of teenagers right now.
Good grief - the world has gone insane.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Nobody CAUSES another person to commit suicide. That choice is squarely on the individual. Is bullying a problem? Yes. But, instead of teaching our kids how to be RESILIENT we teach them to crumble, to be offended, to cry, to believe that their lives are over if something bad has happened to them.
Yes, bullying is a problem. But throwing someone under the bus after YEARS of this kid being bullied by others is ridiculous. They certainly don't care about ruining this person's life with a ridiculous, unfounded charge. They didn't even give any examples of what this person allegedly did - while talking about the bullying that occurred at school for years.
And you know what - if your boss is bullying you, file a complaint or quit. You may have to go to school, but you don't have to work that job.
If we start blaming people for suicides b/c of WORDS, then we may as well lock up a helluva lot of teenagers right now.
Good grief - the world has gone insane.
Yes, if the boss tells you to clean the floor and you don't want to then quit. Is there anyone who hasn't worked with arseholes at some point in their lives?
I hate bullies, as I am sure we all do. And this manager sounds like a roaring beyotch, but it is a stretch to charge her with involuntary manslaughter. Unreal.
But there were times I had to use my authority voice.
And times I had to stay on top of someone to get the job done right.
This is a witch hunt.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I think that we need to take a realistic look at what bullying actually is. It's become some sort of buzzword for things that are perfectly normal. I had a kid the other day tell me that she was bullied at school because she walked into someone by accident and the person told her to watch where she was going.
Or the kid who is mean to other kids and then says they're bullied? Or the kid who gets stood up to for dumb stuff, or the kid who doesn't get picked for the team, whatever whatever whatever. Not bullying. The way the world works.
It's bullying if there is a power indifference or a mob mentality. If a 15 year old is beating up a 12 year old, than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl is rallying a group of girls to torment (over a long period of time, with a pattern) than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl starts a 'we hate whoever' club that makes someone feel bad for a day or so? Not bullying.
How in the world are these people going to make it in the world?! The anti-bullying thing drives me bonkers.
one of the reasons bullying has become prevalent everywhere is that we are no longer raising MEN--we(as a country) are coddling, over-protecting, over-mothering, insulating, indoctrinating, etc. male children instead of raising them to be MEN
since the women's movement began (with steinheim and her ilk)the feminists(not all of them)have focused almost exclusively on training-out what are otherwise natural masculine traits--it has become, especially in the last 20 years or so, impermissible to be a MAN--to think and act for yourself, to honor and protect women and innocents, to honor your family and your country, to act when injustice occurs in your presence and on and on
you want bullying to stop? it never will but we can reduce it considerably if every bully (man or woman) knows that if they can't control themselves, if they hurt others intentionally and with malice, that there are enough young MEN around(as well as good grown MEN) that will stop them and that they just might get their bullying asses stomped in the process
we need to return to raising MEN
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" the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. "--edmund burke
one of the reasons bullying has become prevalent everywhere is that we are no longer raising MEN--we(as a country) are coddling, over-protecting, over-mothering, insulating, indoctrinating, etc. male children instead of raising them to be MEN since the women's movement began (with steinheim and her ilk)the feminists(not all of them)have focused almost exclusively on training-out what are otherwise natural masculine traits--it has become, especially in the last 20 years or so, impermissible to be a MAN--to think and act for yourself, to honor and protect women and innocents, to honor your family and your country, to act when injustice occurs in your presence and on and on
you want bullying to stop? it never will but we can reduce it considerably if every bully (man or woman) knows that if they can't control themselves, if they hurt others intentionally and with malice, that there are enough young MEN around(as well as good grown MEN) that will stop them and that they just might get their bullying asses stomped in the process
one of the reasons bullying has become prevalent everywhere is that we are no longer raising MEN--we(as a country) are coddling, over-protecting, over-mothering, insulating, indoctrinating, etc. male children instead of raising them to be MEN since the women's movement began (with steinheim and her ilk)the feminists(not all of them)have focused almost exclusively on training-out what are otherwise natural masculine traits--it has become, especially in the last 20 years or so, impermissible to be a MAN--to think and act for yourself, to honor and protect women and innocents, to honor your family and your country, to act when injustice occurs in your presence and on and on
you want bullying to stop? it never will but we can reduce it considerably if every bully (man or woman) knows that if they can't control themselves, if they hurt others intentionally and with malice, that there are enough young MEN around(as well as good grown MEN) that will stop them and that they just might get their bullying asses stomped in the process
we need to return to raising MEN
TRUTH!
It hasn't always been easy, but these two young men of mine are awesome.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I think that we need to take a realistic look at what bullying actually is. It's become some sort of buzzword for things that are perfectly normal. I had a kid the other day tell me that she was bullied at school because she walked into someone by accident and the person told her to watch where she was going.
Or the kid who is mean to other kids and then says they're bullied? Or the kid who gets stood up to for dumb stuff, or the kid who doesn't get picked for the team, whatever whatever whatever. Not bullying. The way the world works.
It's bullying if there is a power indifference or a mob mentality. If a 15 year old is beating up a 12 year old, than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl is rallying a group of girls to torment (over a long period of time, with a pattern) than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl starts a 'we hate whoever' club that makes someone feel bad for a day or so? Not bullying.
How in the world are these people going to make it in the world?! The anti-bullying thing drives me bonkers.
I agree. Just because someone doesn't like you or someone is mean, that is NOT bullying.
I think it's not just men who are not being raised, it's all children. Everyone has to win, why is it not ok to fail? Kids are totally over scheduled, when do they learn how to be alone? In my (childless) opinion, parents today are not teaching their children internal validation. Kids rely way too much on what other people think, so when you get someone who's not so nice, those words have way more of an impact than they should.
I think that we need to take a realistic look at what bullying actually is. It's become some sort of buzzword for things that are perfectly normal. I had a kid the other day tell me that she was bullied at school because she walked into someone by accident and the person told her to watch where she was going.
Or the kid who is mean to other kids and then says they're bullied? Or the kid who gets stood up to for dumb stuff, or the kid who doesn't get picked for the team, whatever whatever whatever. Not bullying. The way the world works.
It's bullying if there is a power indifference or a mob mentality. If a 15 year old is beating up a 12 year old, than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl is rallying a group of girls to torment (over a long period of time, with a pattern) than yes. Bullying. If the mean girl starts a 'we hate whoever' club that makes someone feel bad for a day or so? Not bullying.
How in the world are these people going to make it in the world?! The anti-bullying thing drives me bonkers.
So True Tig. The word has become the end all to call any action that we don't like, someone offends someone and you call them a bully. That P nonsense must stop.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
one of the reasons bullying has become prevalent everywhere is that we are no longer raising MEN--we(as a country) are coddling, over-protecting, over-mothering, insulating, indoctrinating, etc. male children instead of raising them to be MEN since the women's movement began (with steinheim and her ilk)the feminists(not all of them)have focused almost exclusively on training-out what are otherwise natural masculine traits--it has become, especially in the last 20 years or so, impermissible to be a MAN--to think and act for yourself, to honor and protect women and innocents, to honor your family and your country, to act when injustice occurs in your presence and on and on
you want bullying to stop? it never will but we can reduce it considerably if every bully (man or woman) knows that if they can't control themselves, if they hurt others intentionally and with malice, that there are enough young MEN around(as well as good grown MEN) that will stop them and that they just might get their bullying asses stomped in the process
we need to return to raising MEN
I was a single MOTHER and raised TWO MEN.
flan
Yes, but like I did, your raised your sons in the era of not coddling. Today it is different. Why is that? because the liberal left was allowing the Past Gov't to raise their kids. Well that is over now for at least 4 years. Maybe our kids will grow a spine.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
I don't even think it's limited to the fact that society doesn't raise MEN any more. I think it's got a lot to so with society not raising ADULTS. We need to go back to parenting that includes severe and often painful consequences for misbehavior, as well as you only get a trophy if you actually win.
Andy was a widowed father raising a child from birth.
He had the help of, first Rose, and then Aunt Bea.
As a kid watching, I remember thinking how cool Andy was as a dad.
Always even tempered, seemed to give enough guidance to help Opie make the right choices.
Consequences for things were handed out fairly and matter-of-factly, and I only remember 2 times Andy said he would spank Opie.
He kept that option for truly great offenses.
But I also remember his teaching Opie how to be a man.
One episode was about Opie being bullied by an older kid.
The older kid would threaten Opie with a knuckle sandwich every morning if Opie didn't hand over his milk money.
When Andy found out what was going on, he didn't want to swoop in and fix it, he wanted Opie to learn to stand up for himself.
So, Andy told Opie a little story about having to stand up to his own bully.
It took a fist fight, but at the end of the day, the bully no longer picked on Andy.
Andy planted a seed and he let it take root without Opie feeling like he failed.
Andy gave Opie permission to defend himself.
And we watch Andy's struggle with letting his little boy grow up while waiting for Opie to come home.
When Opie does come through the door, he is dirty and bruised and grinning ear to ear.
He stood up for himself.
Andy didn't punish Opie, he embraced him, congratulates Opie and they celebrate.
Later, in another episode, years later, Opie comes up against another bully who leads Opie's friends into mischief.
Opie refuses to be part of it and is basically ostracized from his group of friends.
When Opie is left being blamed for something he didn't do, and all his friends are facing punishment because of this one kid, Opie seeks him out, stands up to him and never throws a punch.
The other kid knew he couldn't push Opie around.
And Opie's friends thank him for standing up to the bully.
I watch the show now and think how different sit-come are now.
The kids are obnoxious, parents micro manage everything in the kids lives, and if the kid is being bullied the go to is "tell an adult".
Eventually, these kids are going to be the adult being told about a bully, and they will not have the skills to handle it.
No. Fighting is NOT the best or first answer.
But sometimes, you don't have to fight.
You just have to know defending yourself is ok and you have to be able to be the odd man out.
It isn't teaching your kid to hit or violence solves problems.
It's teaching them they are strong and they don't have to be part of the group.
The bully is the sad guy, the one to be pittied.
But the bully is not to be tolerated.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
In elementary schools here, they have character building activities.
Can you believe that?
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I don't even think it's limited to the fact that society doesn't raise MEN any more. I think it's got a lot to so with society not raising ADULTS. We need to go back to parenting that includes severe and often painful consequences for misbehavior, as well as you only get a trophy if you actually win.
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My post is slightly OT but the above reminded me of something I saw recently. We've all seen the bumper stickers that say my kid is an honor student at XXX school. We saw one the other day that said My kid shows great effort at XXX school. Seriously now parents are proud that their kid puts effort into their school work. My parents expected it & would have kicked my butt if I didn't.
And before anyone asks it is not a special needs school. Just a regular middle school grades 6-8.
Not being resilient is also a character issue and a parenting issue. As a Parent, it is your job to teach your children to be strong and to learn how to deal with setbacks in life. To learn how to stand up for yourself, etc.
Not everyone is going to be the best at everything, but there are those who work their butt off and fall short.
I remember working extremely hard trying to bring my algebra grade up.
Before school, after school, workshops, I drove my teacher nuts, but I was determined to pass that class.
I just couldn't get it.
I needed 1 point to pass.
My teacher gave me the 1 point based on my effort.
But the kid that never showed up and never tried still failed.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Kids need to be taught how to cope with mean people in the world and disappointment. There will always be plenty of both in the world. Too much sheltering from life and real emotions is breeding cream puffs.
I don't know that severe and painful is needed. Consequences and a severe reduction of special snowflake syndrome.
- Tignanello
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By "severe and painful" I didn't mean life threatening or permanently damaging. I mean something that they aren't likely to soon forget. Drop the 5 and 10 minute "time outs", and replace them with loss of ALL electronics for a year. Or if the infraction warrants a spanking, not just a couple of light swats to the butt, but enough that they won't sit comfortably for several hours.
When I misbehaved as a child I was punished in ways that made me strongly desire to not be punished for that again. And that programming led to patterns of behavior that developed into a routine way of behaving.
Unreal.
