Teacher accused of shoving student's head into desk

Teacher accused of shoving student's head into desk

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Story Published: Oct 7, 2008 at 8:50 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 3:31 AM PDT

By Martha Kang

SEATTLE -- A fourth grade teacher at Emerson Elementary School has been placed on leave following in incident during which he allegedly pushed a student in class.

According to the police report, the student's tardiness on Sept. 29 set off the 49-year-old teacher.

The teacher yelled at the student, the report states, even though her tardiness had not been her fault. Then, snatching a pencil out of her hand, he told her to put her head down on her desk, documents say. And as he told her, he allegedly pushed her head toward the desk with enough force to make her head bounce off the desk.

The student later told her mother the teacher's shove had given her a headache.

When a police officer went to investigate, the school's principal told him the teacher had been cited twice in the past for being physically and verbally abusive to students.

Police said in one incident, the teacher refused to allow a student to use the bathroom despite repeated requests, leading her to urinate on herself in front of her classmates

The student had been abused at a very early age for urinating on herself. It is not known whether the teacher was aware of her history of abuse.

In the second incident, a student who believed she was receiving preferential treatment over other students voiced her observation. The teacher responded by yelling at the student, according to the police report. Both incidents had been documented by the Seattle School District, the principal told investigators.

Staff members described the teacher as a good person with a nice personality aside from the several complaints made by children about his anger.

The student's mother has asked that her daughter be placed in another class.

No charges have been filed. The investigation is ongoing.

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