LINCOLN PARK — A police report provides more details on what happened at Oscar Mayer Magnet School when a 3-year-old boy fell from a second-story window and avoided serious injury by landing in chicken coop dirt.
The incident, which police classified as "non-criminal" and "accidental," happened Dec. 8 at the Lincoln Park school, 2250 N. Clifton Ave.
Around 2:15 p.m., a man walking his dog saw a 3-year-old boy "hanging from the [second-story] window" and notified someone who was outside with a group of students, according to the report, obtained by DNAinfo Chicago through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report does not say whether the man saw the toddler fall.
One person ran inside to notify another person, who went outside to help the toddler, according the police report. The names of the individuals were redacted for security reasons.
School officials found the boy standing up and talking, saying the word "locked," according to the police report. The boy also said the word "hand," pointing to his hand, the report said.
Authorities were called "immediately," and the toddler was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, the report said.
Police concluded in a further investigation that the boy had fallen from a second-story classroom, where children enrolled in the school's early childhood development program take naps, which is under the supervision of two teacher assistants.
As nap time was ending, the report said, the teacher's assistants, whose names were redacted, began to line up the kids to bring them to their next location. One of the assistants told police that she thought she saw the toddler "sitting on the floor ready to go," the report reads. One assistant was in front of the line, and the other was in back.
"At some point, they exited the room without the victim in line," the report reads without going into further detail.
The report said the window was open four to six inches.
Parents and members of the Local School Council told DNAinfo Chicago that the only reason the child was uninjured is because the child fell into a dirt pile from a nearby chicken coop, which was donated to the school in 2013 as a teaching tool.
"Given that it turned out apparently fine, I think only at Oscar Mayer could a chicken coop save a child's life," Bill Choslovsky, vice chairman of the Local School Council, previously told DNAinfo Chicago.
Following the incident, the two teacher's assistants assigned to the classroom were removed from the school. The district also implemented a new policy across the city, requiring window stops in all second-floor classrooms occupied by pre-K students.
Parents, teachers and other members of the school community showed an overwhelming amount of support for the teacher's assistants assigned to the classroom at packed Local School Council meeting Dec. 18.
Many of them blamed CPS for its poor communication with parents, referring to a series of vague emails sent by Principal Katie Konieczny, who was operating under the direction of the district.
Read the police report below:
Police Report - Toddler Falls From 2nd-Story Window at Oscar Mayer Magnet School
