Bryan Bundy #

Introduction #

Bryan Bundy is a former instructional assistant at Latonia Elementary School in Covington, Kentucky, who was arrested on September 3, 2026, and charged after police said video captured him dragging and kicking a five-year-old special-needs kindergartner across a school hallway. Bundy, 61, of Newport, Kentucky, faces a second-degree charge stemming from the incident, which police say unfolded Thursday afternoon at the elementary school and was caught on camera. The Covington Independent Public Schools district removed him from contact with students within minutes of learning of the report and announced the next day that he was no longer employed.

Background Information #

Bundy worked as an instructional assistant for Covington Independent Public Schools, assigned to Latonia Elementary School in the Latonia neighborhood of Covington. According to a local parent, he had also previously worked as a substitute teacher and lunch monitor her child had encountered at the school. Records reported by Local 12 showed Bundy had obtained an educational aide permit and had been approved for employment by the Sycamore Community School District in Ohio, though that district said he never worked there.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Allegations. The conduct described in this section is alleged in a Covington police report and a criminal charge — reported as second-degree assault by WKRC and as second-degree criminal abuse against a child 12 or under by WXIX and Gray stations. Bundy has been charged but not tried; a charge is an accusation, and he is presumed innocent. His statements to investigators are reported here as attributed statements from the police report, not adjudicated findings.

According to the police report, video shows the kindergartner sitting on the floor when Bundy approached him, roughly grabbed his arm, and dragged him across the hallway before slinging him toward a concrete wall. Police said Bundy later kicked the child’s communication device across the hallway and subjected the boy to “cruel punishment” by kicking him toward the wall. Per the report, Bundy told investigators he “lost it” and admitted putting his hands on the child and dragging him across the hallway; he said he did not remember kicking the boy. Police also said Bundy expressed remorse and told them he would handle the situation differently if given another opportunity.

Covington police said its domestic abuse response team responded to reports of a juvenile being assaulted by an adult at Latonia Elementary, and Bundy was taken into custody and transported to the Kenton County Detention Center. The child’s father said his son suffered bruising to his wrists, said the incident may have begun after the boy kicked a door, and said the family has retained an attorney. Bundy was released on $2,500 bond and is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Allegations. The police report, the charge, and the accounts below are not adjudicated findings; Bundy is presumed innocent while the case proceeds.

The district said administrators acted immediately after learning of the incident. “Within minutes, the situation was addressed, the individual was removed from contact with students, and the appropriate child protection and law enforcement agencies were engaged,” Covington Independent Public Schools said in a message to parents. The district also apologized after some parents first learned of the allegations from news reports, writing, “You should not have had to first learn about developments related to this matter through news reports. We can and will do better.”

On Friday, Superintendent Cortnei Flucas announced Bundy was no longer employed by the district, saying school administration “acted immediately to protect students and engage law enforcement and the appropriate state agencies,” and that counseling and support resources were available to students and staff. Parent Ashley Cooper said her 9-year-old had previously had Bundy as a substitute teacher and lunch monitor, and said that when she asked whether Bundy had ever been physical or yelled at students, her son answered that Bundy raised his voice and screamed at them.

Current Status #

Bundy has been charged but has not been tried, and the investigation remains ongoing according to officials. He was released from the Kenton County Detention Center on $2,500 bond and is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday. The district has confirmed he is no longer employed by the Covington school system.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The arrest ended Bundy’s work in Covington schools within a day of the reported incident, and the district’s confirmation that he is no longer employed forecloses any return to the classroom role he held at Latonia Elementary. His Ohio educational aide permit, which Sycamore Community School District had approved but never used, now stands alongside a pending felony-level charge that will follow any future attempt to work with children. The case has also become a flashpoint for parents of special-needs students — the alleged target was a nonverbal kindergartner whose communication device police said Bundy kicked — and prompted the district to apologize for parents learning of the arrest from the news rather than from the schools.