SAYREVILLE – A Parlin man has filed a lawsuit against the Sayreville Board of Education, claiming a teacher made racist comments and hurled threats at him during his senior year in high school.
Isaiah Roberts, now 18, claims auto mechanic teacher Richard Bates called him a “gangbanger” in front of other students in class during the 2012-2013 school year at Sayreville War Memorial High School.
Roberts is black.
According to the lawsuit, the teacher also said “You steal cars in Newark” and “You’re going to be dead before you’re 21, just like Chris Cortes.”
Cortes was a 20-year-old Old Bridge man who died in March 2013 when the car he was working on fell on him, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Middlesex County Superior Court. The comment was made four days after Cortes died, the suit states.
The suit claims the teacher stated “I hate your f---- guts,” and that Roberts became “apprehensive of a possible imminent battery because it is so inappropriate and extreme for a teacher to yell at a student.”
After one of the comments, Bates pulled Roberts out of history class to apologize. “During the conversation, Mr. Bates admitted he had been called a racist and a skinhead in the past,” the lawsuit states.
Roberts’ attorneys claim the BOE has video of the conversation.
The suit – which also names the teacher as a defendant – accuses the Sayreville Board of Education of “intentionally, recklessly and willfully failing to take disciplinary actions against Mr. Bates.”
Reached by phone Monday, Bates said the allegations “are not true.” He declined further comment.
Attorneys for the Sayreville Board of Education were not immediately available for comment.
As a result of the alleged statements, Roberts claims his civil rights were violated, he was discriminated against and suffered emotional distress.
The suit states Roberts’ father complained to Vice Principal Richard Gluchowski, who told him “forget about the situation, the school will handle it.”
The board of education removed Roberts from Bates’ classroom but no further disciplinary action was taken, according to the lawsuit.
The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages, attorney’s fees and court costs.