'Drugs and Violence at DVHS' Video Raises Concern from Community

BY JANE McINNIS

The video of a fight between two 10th grade Dougherty Valley High girls posted online by a mother last week went viral, raising strong concern among viewers and the San Ramon community.

Patch spoke to the San Ramon Valley High School District and Kate Benediktsson, the parent who posted the video, to get a glimpse of what occurred before the fight and how it's being handled. 

Where and when did the fight happen?

The scene of the fight was off school grounds at 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 14., according to Benediktsson. The park where the girls fought was at Souyen Park, off Watermill Road near Dougherty Valley High.

Who took the video?

Benediktsson acquired the video from a student after hearing about the fight and seeking evidence for the police. San Ramon Valley District spokesman Terry Koehne said there's another video of the fight which shows a slightly different perspective. The school and police are reviewing the evidence as well as interviewing witnesses as part of the investigation.

"I could only watch the video once," Benediktsson said.

The video lasts over a minute and shows two girls fighting in a field, with hair-pulling and punches to the face while those watching the brawl act only as spectators.

What led up to it?

After weeks of ongoing problems between the two, the district maintains that the school "did meet with the girls to work on this," and didn't turn a blind eye to the issue. 

Benediktsson said the rift between the teens had been ongoing after her daughter intervened to protect a younger student who was being peer-pressured into buying marijuana.

The mother explained that she contacted the Vice Principal about alleged threats from the other girl. She also contacted the girl's parents, she said. 

"I was doing everything to alert everyone that there was a problem," she said.

Injuries?

Benediktsson's daughter has a bruised face, scratches and a sore scalp from the fight, but didn't require medical attention. The injuries sustained by the other teen involved with the fight isn't known.

What is the school doing about it?

Even though the incident happened off of school grounds, the issue is being considered under school jurisdiction.

The school is working with police on investigating incident, interviewing students and witnesses to get all sides of the story before moving forward with the consequences, Koehne said.

Benediktsson met with the district on Nov. 18 but left not knowing if any of the girls involved were suspended, and said she feels like the issue isn't being properly handled by the school.

"Covering their own tail took precedence over the real situation," she said.

She said she wants to see more effort to educate the high school students on bullying.

Benediktsson "There aren't bad kids, they are just children," she said. "What they need is the education component on knowing what to do."

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From the editor: Because the girls involved with the incident are minors, their names have not been used. Any comments with the girls' names will be deleted.