Lorain Schools Safety Compliance Officer fired for placing colleague in chokehold

LORAIN — Lorain Schools fired a safety compliance officer after he allegedly put a colleague in a chokehold during a dispute in August. Safety Compliance Officer Micah Gibbs reportedly had an altercation with his fellow SCO Markell Young after Young allegedly said "this (N-word)" when the pair were talking about a copy of a document Gibbs needed. According to an incident report, around 9:45 a.m. Aug. 25, Gibbs, Young, Safety Officer Jacob Quinones and Safety Coordinator Darrel Smalls were in an office when Gibbs asked for a copy of a building drill log from Smalls. Young reportedly told Gibbs he had a copy of the document and would give it to him, to which Gibbs said he "asked Mr. Smalls." Young reportedly commented under his breath, "this (N-word)," to which Gibbs told Young not to call him that word. Both men are Black. Young said he did not call him the N-word and told Gibbs not to "try him." Gibbs then reportedly put Young in a chokehold from behind. When Gibbs released him, the pair continued to argue until Smalls and Quinones got between them and told Gibbs to leave, according to the incident report. Both men were sent home for the day, according to emails from Executive Director of Safety/Security Reuben Figueroa. Gibbs was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. In Young's written statement on the incident, he said he meant his under-the-breath comment in cultural contexts similar to "wow, this dude" or "wow, this guy." He said he recognized it was inappropriate in a professional setting and something he should not have said whether or not Gibbs would hear it. He said in the days leading up to the incident, Gibbs was agitated and short-tempered with his co-workers — including Young, who had worked with him for more than 15 years. In his statement to Figueroa on the issue, Gibbs said he was unsure why it was considered an incident and alleged he and Young were roughhousing and stopped once Smalls and Quinones intervened. The incident in August is not the first time Gibbs had a disciplinary issue in the district. Gibbs previously served a three-day, unpaid suspension after reportedly becoming increasingly aggressive with a high school student who called him the same derogatory name Young in the spring of 2024. He was required to complete anger management training. In 2021, a Lorain High School secretary filed a complaint against Gibbs after he reportedly yelled at her when she attempted to get his attention so he could identify probation officers trying to pick up a student from Success Academy. According to that incident report, the secretary did not recognize the probation officers and asked Gibbs to identify them. When she tapped Gibbs with the eraser on her pencil to get his attention, he reportedly yelled at her, "I am not that person, I will hit you back." She reported to district officials that she felt threatened and unsafe and stated Gibbs' actions were inappropriate. Safety compliance officers previously handled truancy cases within the district. The position was dissolved earlier this month, and those duties will be handled by other staff. Superintendent Jeff Graham declined to comment on the situation. The Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Gibbs' termination on Oct. 13. Representatives from the United Steelworkers, the union Gibbs belonged to, did not respond to requests for comment. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.