The family of Franklin High School student Xavier Nungaray-Martinez, who died after falling from a fourth-floor hallway, called Tuesday for school police to return to campus and put a spotlight on stopping bullying during a protest in front of the district’s downtown headquarters.
They also questioned the county medical examiner’s preliminary conclusion that Xavier’s death on Sept. 30 should be classified as a suicide.
“He was not suicidal,” said his father, William Amaya, speaking publicly for the first time since his son’s death. “So just putting it out there because they said he was and he wasn’t.”
The family is also awaiting toxicology test results from the coroner, but said Tuesday they do not believe Xavier used drugs and had never heard him talk about them on campus.
Xavier, a 17-year-old senior, was described by his father as a kind, shy teen who loved playing games and looked forward to graduation.
“He’s looking forward to getting to work,” Amaya said. “He had a plan. He was trying to move on.”
Amaya was one of about six parents, including two other family members, who demonstrated outside Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.
“We’re trying to make our voices heard,” said Stephanie Amaya, William Amaya’s cousin. “Xavier started a movement for all of us, and we’re here just to protect our kids. Bring back the school police. That’s our top priority, we want justice. That’s why we’re out there, waiting for them to hear us.”
She vowed to continue protesting for as long as necessary. A group of district parents called for police to return to campus last week, reigniting a long-running debate over police patrols in Los Angeles Unified schools. Other parents in Franklin are focused on counseling and do not support the police presence.
In 2020, under pressure from community and student activists calling for police defunding, the school board voted 4-3 to remove police from campus and cut school police funding by 35%. A much smaller police force continues to conduct patrols and respond to emergencies.
“We need every school and every child to have the opportunity to be protected in school,” Amaya said. She has launched a petition calling for increased surveillance measures, campus police, training for non-police security personnel, improved communication within campuses, and the installation of safer railing systems, particularly at Franklin.
The family said they believed Xavier was being bullied and viewed it as a major problem for Franklin.
The Los Angeles Police Department said last week it was investigating allegations that “bullying may have contributed to the student’s death.”
Video taken shortly before his fall shows Xavier being hit at least six times on the classroom floor by a classmate. There is no video showing what happened before the fight. The video also shows a teacher standing between students as Xavier slowly stands up. Another student punched Xavier from behind, knocking him to the ground. He stumbled out of the classroom.
Another video taken seconds later shows Xavier standing on a railing. As Xavier jumped over the railing, a male student who appeared to be another person in the conflict quickly approached Xavier.
Police have not released information about the person in the video who attacked Xavier.
Xavier’s aunt, Elizabeth Amaya, said Tuesday that she disputes the finding of suicide because she said Xavier would not have fled the classroom if not for the fight.
Elizabeth Amaya, who also has a daughter at the school who is a senior, said her daughter also believes bullying is a problem and the school is trying to recover from the tragedy.
They said families stressed that police presence should not come at the expense of counseling, which also needed to be increased or improved.
William Amaya, a Franklin College graduate, added that there had been one or more police officers on campus who used their presence to break up fights and deter others. Former school board member David Togowsky said Franklin once assigned two officers to the school out of concern for keeping the campus safe from notorious local gangs.