Add The California Post on Google A 14-year-old California high school student suffered third-degree burns after campus security officers pinned her to a scorching metal plate following her fighting with a boy and teacher.
Bridgette Chocoteco said the incident began on Aug. 25 after a teacher at Bakersfield High School grabbed her arm following a physical altercation between her and a fellow student.
“The lady grabbed me, like twice — and I yanked my arm back the first time. And then I yanked it again, and I told her to let go of me. And she didn’t, so I hit her,” Chocoteco told KGET 17 News.
After she hit the teacher, school security quickly jumped in and tackled her on to a metal plate in open space, which had been under the hot sun all day in Kern County’s 100-degree weather.
The metal plate had ‘electric high voltage’ engraved on it, reported the news outlet. “I know my actions weren’t right, but that doesn’t excuse theirs.
“If they would have just gave me a second to calm down, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have put my hands on anybody. They didn’t have to touch me,” the teen said.
She was on the metal plate for around two minutes and her exposed skin sustained severe burns.
“I was screaming that I was burning and they just kind of held me even harder. One of them said that’s what I get,” Chocoteco said.
When her mother, Kristian Chocoteco arrived at the hospital, she expected bumps or bruises. Bakersfield High School hadn’t mentioned the extent of her daughter’s injuries, but the wet towels laid over the teenager hinted at something far worse.
“I thought maybe she was bleeding. Then she saw the severe third-degree burns across her daughter’s stomach and thigh. It was just disgusting—how they did her.
“I was in shock. I had to walk away because I didn’t want to cry in front of her,” the teen’s mother told the news outlet.
Chocoteco is currently receiving burn treatments at a Fresno hospital with her mother at her bedside.
