Bus Driver John Moody Defends Self After A Boy Took A Beating On His Bus

Bus driver John Moody is defending himself left and right after a surveillance tape revealed that he didn't physically stop a brutal beating that occurred on his bus.

The attack, which occurred on July 9, involved three 15-year-old boys savagely beating a 13-year-old. The video is below (WARNING: GRAPHIC):

Moody, despite not physically ending the fight, did try to stop the perpetrators. He yelled at them to stop and radioed dispatchers to try and get help. “You gotta get somebody here quick, quick, quick, quick. They’re about to beat this boy to death over here,” Moody, 46, told dispatchers. “Please get somebody here quick. There’s still doing it. There’s nothing I can do.”

According to Pinella County school policy, Moody was not required to intervene, but just to call the dispatcher. Moody explained that he didn’t step in because he feared things could get worse. “Me jumping in the middle of that fight with three boys, it would have been more dangerous for other students on the bus for as myself," he said on CNN's Piers Morgan. "There's just no telling what might have happened."

Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent, however, called Moody out for not doing more. “There was clearly an opportunity for him to intervene and or check on the welfare of the children or the child in this case, and he didn't make any effort to do so," Vincent said. Despite this, there are no grounds for prosecuting Moody. His lawyer, Frank McDermott, explained that Moody did what the rules required of him. “I don't think law enforcement should ever tell citizens to intervene in a violent attack,” McDermott said. “John did what he was trained to do."

Though Moody will not be charged in this case, that is not to say he has not been without consequences – he said that he retired two weeks after the incident and has had trouble sleeping since. “I took it really personal,” Moody said. “I had many sleepless nights. I had nightmares."

The three boys who committed the beating – Julian McKnight, Lloyd Khemradj and Joshua Reddin – have all been arrested and charged with aggravated assault. In addition, Reddin has been charged with unarmed robbery after stealing the victim’s money. The beating occurred reportedly because the 13-year-old had told school officials that one of the boys had tried to sell him drugs. The victim reportedly suffered a broken arm and two black eyes from the attack.