An incident between two kitchen employees at the Platte City Middle School has resulted in a municipal assault charge against one of the workers.
Carolyn R. Mejia, age 63, of Kansas City, has been issued a citation for non-aggravated assault. A court date of Nov. 16 has been set for her in Platte City Municipal Court. Mejia is accused of assaulting her superior in the kitchen at the middle school in an incident that occurred around 10:50 a.m. on Sept. 20.
The supervisor told police she was meeting with Mejia about Mejia’s attitude at work. The supervisor alleges Mejia got up, threw her apron at her then turned to walk out of the kitchen office. Mejia went to her locker and started to gather her belongings. The supervisor says she asked Mejia to fill out a letter of resignation and sign out.
Mejia allegedly then stated, according to the police report, “get the hell out of my way or I’m going to kick your ass.”
The supervisor advised Mejia to exit through the back, since students were beginning to come to the area for lunch. The supervisor, who is pregnant, alleges Mejia nudged her with an elbow in the stomach. Mejia allegedly leaned down toward a drawer that she had some belongings in, and while kneeling down in a ‘tackling position’ shoved the supervisor with her shoulder, stood up and shoved her again, according to the police report.
According to the police report, Mejia had a “mandolin” in her hand. The mandolin was described as a kitchen tool used to slice apples, a razor blade-like tool. The supervisor told police she did not want Mejia going into the lunchroom with it in her hand since she was upset and there were students coming in.
The supervisor told police she noticed her lunch room monitor and a janitor on the other side of the kitchen and advised them to not let Mejia leave, and to get the principal. The supervisor told police Mejia turned around to head through the back as the principal was walking into the kitchen. Mejia had her hands full of her items at this time and was standing in the doorway refusing to leave, according to the allegations in the police report. The supervisor told police she then opened the door enough to get Mejia to move and then shut the door behind her. The door then secured so Mejia was unable to come back inside.
The supervisor told police that the principal and the school resource officer then followed Mejia to her car. The supervisor told police that the principal attempted to get Mejia to stop and talk to him “but she got into her car, flipped him off and drove away,” according to the police report.
On Sept. 27, police made contact with Mejia and asked her to come into the police department to discuss the disturbance that had taken place. Mejia told police she was going out of town but that she could come in on Oct. 1.
On Oct. 1, police say they were contacted by Mejia’s husband, who said he was there to give police Carolyn’s written statement, as she was sick and would not be coming. The husband was told the responding officer had completed a summons for Carolyn regarding the alleged assault. According to police documents, Mejia’s husband “got upset and wanted to argue.” He left without incident after being told “they will get their day in court,” according to the police report.
The supervisor, eight weeks pregnant, was in the school nurse’s office when police arrived on the scene on the day of the assault, went to the hospital to be checked out for abdomen pain. Northland Regional Ambulance District was called to the scene and transported the supervisor to the hospital. She later told police doctors were able to get a sonogram to check the baby’s heartbeat and checked her urine for any signs of bleeding, which came back negative. According to police documents, the supervisor was back at work the next day after doctors told her they were not worried.