SAN ANTONIO – Video shows the moment Edgewood Independent School District police officers removed a San Antonio woman from a school board meeting Tuesday night in handcuffs.
Maribel Gardea was arrested on three charges: criminal trespass, resisting arrest and disrupting a meeting. Now, the nonprofit she represents is calling for action from the Edgewood ISD School Board meeting.
During the public comment portion of the regular board meeting, Gardea spoke up on a presentation from Edgewood police and the counseling department regarding “Student Safety and Awareness.”
Gardea is the executive director of MindShiftED, a local nonprofit that helps families advocate for their children’s education.
Gardea was told her “time was up” after talking for four minutes, the video shows. But there was confusion over how her time allotted would be split between Spanish and English.
>> Read the full exchange here
The video shows that when she tries to continue her speech after the timer goes off, her microphone is cut off.
“Ma’am, you’re out of line,” a board member said. “Your four minutes is up.”
Authorities approached Gardea as she was reading and escorted her out of the meeting, the video shows.
Videos obtained by KSAT appear to show Edgewood ISD police escorting Gardea to a police car in handcuffs.
According to Edgewood ISD board operating procedures, when a person addresses the board, presentations may be for three minutes or less.
“Non-English speakers who require a translator may receive up to six minutes to speak,” the procedures state.
In a statement to KSAT, Edgewood ISD Superintendent Eduardo Hernández said, in part:
“The individual’s actions were not in alignment with the EISD Board Operations Procedures and Code of Ethics, necessitating their removal. To ensure productive dialogue, we ask all participants to adhere to the established procedures and decorum that guide our board meetings.”
Telemundo spoke to Gardea when she left the Bexar County jail on Wednesday. She spoke in Spanish during that interview, which KSAT translated a small part of:
“I wanted parents to feel comfortable to voice their opinions, and then this happens,” she said. “A district that tries to silence the voices of families is criminal.”
MindShiftED is calling for three things from Edgewood ISD:
- A dismissal of all charges against Gardea
- An immediate independent investigation into what happened
- A formal meeting between the district, MindShiftED and Edgewood ISD parents
Mary Catherine Uribe is the board chair for the nonprofit. She said Gardea has been working to address the following issues Edgewood ISD parents are concerned about:
- Students being placed in ISS without their parents being notified
- Incomplete IEP support for students with disabilities
- Bullying
- Limited access to public comment
But not every bystander at the board meeting on Tuesday night agreed. Joey Cipriano, president-elect for the Thompson Neighborhood Association, said he thinks the board and the district acted fairly.
“She refused to leave and that’s when she became arrested,” he said.
KSAT reached out to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. A spokesperson could not comment further but confirmed the three charges still stand as of Wednesday night.
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