Jordan Vieira

U.S history
November 2nd, 2015
Elena Maker

Background Section:
At Tolman high school there was an incident involving two students who are brother and
a supply officer. According to social media, the supply officer slammed the younger brother
whose name was Tyler Deburgo on his neck while his back was turned away from the officer.
People tend to say that the brothers back was turned to the officer because he was arguing with
another student but nobody knows the true full story of why his back was actually turned away.
This incident which all occurred inside the high school during school hours caused protest which
then led to students and pedestrians that were passing by the school to be pepper sprayed. Many
claim this to be an act of injustice and that's the exact reason why the situation was so widely
spread around the world and around rhode island so quickly.
When looking at incidents like the one at Tolman, it is helpful to consider how different
peoples identities affect the community. Identity is the collection of characteristics by which one
is recognized or known. All the people that were involved with the Tolman incident was the two
brothers whose names were Ivander and Tyler deburgo, and the supply officer who basically
makes sure everything is setup for the school day and makes sure everything goes well
throughout the day. Also the students who were pepper sprayed at the time of the incident. After
what had happened that day of the incident at Tolman High School, the students now have a
totally different view on the government. A legacy is something transmitted by or received from
a member of an older generation. How this relates to identity is because if you have a bad legacy

and it's full of violence and jail time your identity also gets affected due to the fact that a bad
reputation is being created for yourself. The legacy for police violence is that for too much time
police have been using brutal force and have been using the brutal force pretty frequently. This
problem is really affecting how people are looking at the government. The incident shows a
clear example of how the government and the country's so called protectors are using this
brutal force to solve small problems which then turns the situation into a big problem. The
meaning of voice is the act of expressing yourself in a way that you are making yourself known.
How this relates to identity is because your voice is what helps to shape the way they people see
you as a human being. The students, teachers, and the community. Their voices were heard by
the protest that took place in front of Tolman and during the conference they had with the maior
and principal. Two people that shared their voice was the maior of the city and the principal of
Tolman High School.
An assumption is accusing someone of their identity without confirmation. A label is a
name, word, or phrase used to classify or categorize a person. Labels are often, but not always,
inaccurate. How they are connected is because they both define a persons identity either in a
positive or negative matter. An assumption that the police officer could have made about the
students is that due to them being black they must be up to something bad. This assumption is
what could have led to a small problem being a very big problem. The students could have
labeled the officer as a bad person due to him slamming the student on his neck while his back
was turned away. This label is also what could have led to the protest that was started and it
could have been the cause of the situation turning into such a big problem. Assumptions and
labels are the cause of all the war and violence that is occurring in our everyday lives. Officers

are using assumptions and labels against us in a negative way and we the people are using
assumption and labels against the government in a negative way also.
To think historically means to have an understanding of why situations happen in the past
and to know why the are occurring in the present time. How we are addressing the situation by
expressing ourselves and our thoughts about a situation that we cared about and how even
though we didnt have a part in the situation it still involved us in some way. Our voices need to
be heard. So, we are using our voice by letting what we believe be known in a way that it
changes the future in a positive manner.

Evidence Section:
1. Evidence #1: Formal Media Source
a. Title of article: Police: two brothers instigated tolman high school
incident.
b. Link to article: http://turnto10.com/news/local/police-two-brothersinstigated-tolman-high-school-incident
c. Explanation: This link shows that there was an outrage at Tolman
High School that was stemming from a video that was posted on social media,
showing a pawtucket police officers pepper spraying a whole bunch of High
School students.
2. Evidence #2: Social Media Source
a. Title of source: Tolman High School incident
b. Link, or site (facebook.com, twitter.com):
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?
story_fbid=1124800694218543&id=731743396857610&refsrc=http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.google.com%2F&_rdr

c. Explanation:

Brutal cop slams teenage student on his head all while in a High School. The student is
now suffering from spinal problems as a result of the assault.
3. Evidence #3: Photo or video
a. Title of photo if not titled: Untitled photo from turn to 10 news.
b. Title of video. if not titled untitled video from turn to 10 news.
i.
http://turnto10.com/news/local/boys-describeinjuries-in-school-arrests
ii.
http://turnto10.com/news/local/gallery/boysdescribe-injuries-in-school-arrests
c. Source: http://turnto10.com/news/local/boys-describe-injuries-inschool-arrests
d. Explanation: These sources show what happened in both a video
and a photo. They both show the true backstory of what really happened. And
they both display an image with either words or a photo on how bad it looked at
Tolman high school.
4. Evidence #4: Witness testimony
a. Name of witness: Officer/ Authority
b. Quote: Officials said the school resource officer witnessed the 14
year old shouting obscenities and trying to fight another student., from
http://turnto10.com/news/local/police-two-brothers-instigated-tolman-highschool-incident
c. Explanation: The officials are stating that the resource officer had a
reason behind why he acted he acted upon the situation the way that he did.
5. Evidence #5: Government Official
a. Name of government official: Mayor Don Grebien
b. Quote: Sometimes it can look worse than what it really is.
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151015/NEWS/151019488
c. Explanation: The mayor understands why everybody was
concerned on the situation that occurred at Tolman. But, he feels that in order for

people to outrage or want justice they all must know the full story on what really
happened at the school.

Analysis:
My belief on what happened at Tolman high school was that there were two brothers who
were defending each other in an issue with an officer and then after a while the officer ended up
getting reckless on one of the brothers who was 15years old. The officer ended up body
slamming the student on his neck which then led to the student having spinal problems. This
whole situation led up to students skipping a day of school and protesting for justice. The officers
knowing that the situation was getting out of control started to pepper spray everyone who was
on the scene. The policeman did not act upon the situation appropriately because the students
back was turned to the policeman. He could have significantly killed the student if he would
have slammed him the wrong way. They did not even respond to the protesting the right way.
What good is it to pepper spray students who believe that justice needs to be served.

The only thing out of this whole situation that I could agree with was the student protesting
because I also believed that justice needed to be served. The coverage was fair but it's not the
way the students should have been heard. Some people after seeing what occurred at Tolman
high school feel like the students are animals when really all the students wanted was justice and
for the voices to be heard world wide. The mayor did take the right steps towards the situation
because the police officer was fired from the school and their was justice served which is a good
thing for the students because now they can feel safe in the high school.

Conclusion:
This event that occurred at Tolman high school impacts our world in a way that we all
question ourselves on whether or not we feel safe in our communities. Also, this event may
change the way we see the government . Their needs to be some sort of law that enforces officers
to not use brutal force unless necessary. This situation that occurred at Tolman high school with
the students and the officer, there was absolutely no need for the officer to body slam the student
the way he did. So, this being said situations like this there is no need for brutal force. Also, there
needs to be a limit on the amount of times that officers use pepper spray. All students wanted at
Tolman was justice. There was no need to pepper spray students who believe that what happened
at their school was wrong and unjust. Even people who were just walking by the school were hit
with the pepper spray. So, once again there needs to be a limit or law that defines in what
specific situations officers are allowed to be using pepper spray. If these two recommendations
are put to use the amount of times that people in general fight with police will most likely go
down because nowadays officers are being caught using way too much force which is making the
people question whether or not we feel safe and this really does reflect on how all of us as one
unit move forward in life.