Fired Palatine High staffer says she was dismissed for sharing video of student abuse

A former Palatine High School security employee is suing Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 alleging she was fired for revealing a co-worker’s violent treatment of a student.

Amy Stilling Tanner claims her firing in April came in retaliation for sharing a surveillance video showing another employee acting inappropriately toward a student.

That employee also was fired by the District 211 board of education in a unanimous vote April 16.

In a statement Tuesday, District 211 officials acknowledged awareness of the lawsuit but declined to comment on the pending litigation.

According to the suit, filed in Cook County court, the employee policy violation cited as the basis for Stilling Tanner’s firing relates her sharing of the video with people not involved in the investigation of the March incident.

Stilling Tanner received a partial copy of the security video from a school resource officer to document the incident in a hallway, the suit states. At the time, she had worked for the district for more than three years and had 31 years of experience in law enforcement, the suit states.

The video depicts a group of students engaged in horseplay, progressing to two 15-year-olds tussling and laughing, according to the suit. The students disengaged when a school staff member approached.

According to the suit, the video depicts the staff member grabbing a Black student from behind, spinning him around, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him repeatedly into the metal rolldown door of a concession stand.

Out of concern for what she saw, Stilling Tanner shared the video with other District 211 employees, the suit states. She later acknowledged to school officials that she shared the clip with four employees, according to the suit.

Stilling Tanner was suspended on April 2 on allegations she violated employee conduct policies, the suit states. Two weeks later, she was dismissed by the school board.

The suit claims she had never been provided any of the policies she was accused of violating.

“The board’s proffered bases for Amy Stilling Tanner’s termination are mere pretext,” the lawsuit states. “The real reason for her termination was because Amy Stilling Tanner had the courage to speak out about the assault and battery of a child by a District 211 employee by sharing the video.”

The suit adds that the State of Illinois recognizes a mandate to protect employees who report activities they believe are illegal.

The lawsuit asks a court to award Stilling Tanner the value of all past and future lost compensation and benefits, damages for emotional distress, additional compensatory and punitive damages and legal fees.

Stilling Tanner attorney Ken Apicella said he considers the arguments of the case straightforward.

“Under well-established Illinois law, people cannot be fired for reporting illegal, unethical or improper conduct that violates an important public policy,” he said. “We believe our filing speaks for itself.”

epeterson@dailyherald.com