A teacher in Humble, Texas, has been placed on leave after he was allegedly caught on video slamming a student into a wall.
The student’s father, Elvert Bolden, showed the footage to Fox 26 Houston, saying that the teacher “grabbed him, slung him across the tables and chairs and then slammed him up against the wall. It’s very upsetting”.
“Even the teachers’ own policies state the only time you’re supposed to use force like that is if the student is physically harming another student, or he’s hurting you,” the father said, adding that a substitute teacher entered his son’s Wednesday class at Humble High School.
The English teacher told Mr Bolden’s 10th-grade son that he was being too loud during the lesson.
Mr Bold told the local TV station that the teacher “stayed in his face, antagonising him. My son told him ‘You told me to be quiet. I’m not saying nothing else’ and that’s when I was told the teacher snatched the chair from up under my baby”.
“You see the students trying to get the teacher off of him, and he’s steady yelling why are you putting your hands on me. Then the teacher slams him on the ground and the teacher gets on top of him,” Mr Bolden said. “I want him arrested, charges filed. I want his teacher’s license revoked. I don’t want him to be able to go to any school in any state and be able to teach another child in the event he may do this again. If I would have put my hands on my baby I would have been in jail.”
Mr Bolden said his son was limping after the incident, using crutches, and had significant bruising – enough to warrant taking him to the emergency room.
The father told Fox 26 Houston that he’s certain that his son would have been taken to jail if he had behaved like the teacher.
“Yes, he would have [gone] to jail. My son didn’t put his hands on him. That teacher put his hands on my baby but that teacher got to get in his vehicle and drive home. I have a problem with that,” he told Fox.
“How’s my son going to be mentally? We already see how he is physically. Physically, he’ll heal. Me, myself, my wounds from the military healed, but I still deal with the invisible wounds of it: PTSD,” he added.
The Humble school district said in a statement that “this should not have happened. It is unacceptable. The teacher has been put on leave. An investigation is underway, and it is unlikely he will be returning when the investigation concludes”.
“On January 11, 2023, the teacher was helping out in another classroom when he used physical force to try to get a student to take a seat and listen. These actions are unacceptable and contrary to standards and expectations for all employees,” the district said.
“The district has a process for addressing serious concerns which includes reporting to law enforcement and full cooperation with any law enforcement investigation. Humble ISD Police are investigating,” they concluded.
