Video of teacher hitting student with broomstick leads to arrest, Florida cops say
A video recorded on a middle school student’s phone led to the arrest of a former teacher in Florida, who faces a charge of child abuse, authorities said.
A student from Forest Grove Middle School in Fort Pierce recorded a Snapchat video of a teacher hitting a student with what appeared to be a metal broom handle, according to the teacher’s arrest warrant affidavit.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the incident days after it occurred the week of April 18, the affidavit said. The victim’s mother reported the situation and deputies were provided footage of the accused attack, according to the affidavit.
“The video was obvious in the fact that (the teacher) did strike the victim with the stick, or broken broom,” the responding deputy wrote in the affidavit.
The teacher was hired as an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) teacher on Aug. 3, 2021, according to CBS12. According to the Florida Department of Education, ESE classes focus on students who “have disabilities and are gifted,” including children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, speech impairment, specific learning disabilities and other conditions.
The victim was reported to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, according to CBS12.
Footage of the incident provided to WPBF shows the victim with his back close to the classroom wall and shouting. At one point, he appears to push the teacher’s hands away and shouts, “I want to get out.”
“You like it right here,” the teacher responded.
“No, I don’t,” the student said.
Several seconds later, the video shows the teacher striking the student with a stick on his leg and the student sinks to the ground.
Prior to the recorded hit, the teacher told the school that she had been sweeping when the broom broke and the student picked up the broken piece and began running with it, according to the affidavit.
The teacher told the school in a statement that when she took the broken broom handle back from the student, she cut her hand, according to the affidavit. The responding deputy’s description of the video matches the teacher’s story of the broom breaking.
“At one point after the broom handle breaks, (the teacher) throws the broken piece at the victim, missing him, and damaging a computer,” the deputy continued in the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the teacher didn’t write up the victim because it was a “playful” interaction.
“I was enraged,” the victim’s mother told WPBF. “Your job is not to beat him … you beat my baby.”
The student who recorded the incident told his mom that he wanted to protect his friend, WPXI reported.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office visited the school and interviewed staff and students on Thursday, April 21, and put out an arrest warrant against the teacher on one count of child abuse the next day.
The teacher was located by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on April 22 and taken into custody, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The teacher was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail and released on $5,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
The teacher’s name has been removed from the staff directory on Forest Grove Middle School’s website.
“The alleged behavior is intolerable and reprehensible. As a result of the initial investigation, the teacher has been terminated,” a St. Lucie Public Schools spokeswoman told WPTV.
McClatchy News reached out to St. Lucie Public Schools for comment on April 26 and did not receive an immediate response.
St. Lucie County is about 128 miles north of Miami.
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 8:07 AM with the headline "Video of teacher hitting student with broomstick leads to arrest, Florida cops say."
