Law&Crime Sidebar - Shocking Video Shows Enraged Student Slapping Teacher in Class: Cops

Episode Date: April 28, 2024

North Carolina officials say a teenager will face assault charges and likely expulsion after cell phone video allegedly captured him slapping a teacher across the face. The teacher declined medical attention and was back in the classroom the very next day. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber discusses the horrifying video, the consequences for the alleged offender, and accusations that the student has attacked a teacher before with trial attorney David Ring.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’ve used Incognito mode in Google’s Chrome browser, find out if you have a claim in a few clicks by visiting https://incognitoclaims.com/sidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on A audible. Listen now on Audible. I don't want it. We want me hit you again. I don't want it. A North Carolina educator is allegedly slapped not once, but twice across the face by a high school. student. We're analyzing this shocking video with trial attorney David Ring. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Hey everybody, this is a law and crime legal alert. Google Incognito tracked users browsing data without their knowledge. And Mass Tort Alliance, one of our legal sponsors, is helping users file for compensation due to Google misleading the privacy

of their incognito browser. So if you've used Google Incognito, anytime since 2016, you can start your claim in less than 10 questions at incognito claims.com slash sidebar. It is a moment so shocking that you might not believe it if it weren't on video. A student at a Winston-Salem-Salem North Carolina High School allegedly physically assaulted a teacher. I don't want it. You want me to hit you again? I don't want it.

I don't want it. Oh, my God. I stopped fucking going with me. I told your gunned and do I look like I care What's wrong with you? What's you going to do? Still sitting at here

I need to use the My brain Stop fucking with me Oh, that ain't nobody It would come And he just got slapped Go back to teasing It's horrific

I don't have another word It's horrific The student identified only as a minor Approaches the teacher And appears to hit her Twice hard knocking her head back and sending her glasses flying off her face. It's unclear what exactly provoked this attack,

but no one jumps in to help, and you can even hear other students laughing. It happened last week at Parkland High School in Forsyth County. The district attorney Jim O'Neill reviewed the video with the sheriff within an hour of it going viral. Sheriff Kimbrough and myself spent the morning over at Parkland High School speaking with the teacher because we want one message to be delivered today, and that's this.

This isn't about the color of your skin. This isn't about your political affiliation. Today is about one thing. Sending a message to the teachers out there that law enforcement and the district attorney's office support you. we care about the job you do nobody goes to work and expects to get assaulted

we take allegations of this kind very seriously we expect that the message that's delivered is that if you put your hand on law enforcement if you put your hand on a teacher justice will be swift and mighty well sheriff bobby kimbrough called for accountability My question is this, is that the community should be horrified.

The community should be outraged. I know there are a lot of things in our society that used to be sacred, but something must remain sacred. Those that educate our children, those that give our children hope, must not go to work in fear of being assaulted by no means. And when I sit with the teacher today, I'm amazed that she even showed up for work today. Wow.

Yeah, one day, after the assault, juvenile justice issued a secure custody order for one count of communicating threats and two counts of misdemeanor assault against this student. Student information and disciplinary information is federally protected. It can't be released by school officials, so it'll be a question of how much details we actually get about this. District Attorney O'Neill and Sheriff Kimbrough say that videos like these reinforce the push for more SROs or school resource officers and local schools, but it is always a question of resources. Now, on the other hand, Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn said that there needs to be accountability at home and in the community as well, that we can't just expect law enforcement to handle everything.

In a statement, Superintendent Tricia McManus said, quote, this behavior will not be tolerated at no time. Is it acceptable for students to put their hands on a teacher in Winston-Salem-Forsight County Schools? My focus now is on making sure that our teacher is taking care of and has the support needed to navigate through the lasting effects of this incident. McManus said that there will be a hearing to determine the student's consequences separate from the legal consequences. She's going to recommend expulsion at a hearing. But it seems that this is not the first time something like this has happened.

No, at the same school, by the same student, there apparently was another incident. Brings me to Larry Edwards. He was a teacher for decades before retiring and becoming a substitute teacher for Parkland High School. And he claims that he was pushed in the head. by this very same student in May of 2023. Fox 8 spoke with Edwards this week. He told them that the teen gave him a fake name

and wasn't even supposed to be in the biology class that Edwards was subbing for. And Edwards says that the student was being very disruptive. I walked up to the desk to get my phone to call the office. And he mockingly walked behind me. And I happened to turn around and see him. and the student started laughing and the next thing I know he had taken this hand and smushed my head yeah Edward says he tried to report what happened even wrote up an affidavit provided it to school

administrators but Edward says about a month later though he got a letter from the juvenile justice office but never heard about a court date he was then told that officials took another course of action. The DA was asked during the news conference whether this student had assaulted any of the teachers before, but said he couldn't comment on that. Let's break it down. Let's talk about it. Let me bring in David Ring, trial attorney, friend of the show. David, good to have you on here. Overall thoughts on this case and seeing this, because I was shocked and appalled to see it myself. Well, I had the exact same reaction, Jesse. I mean, I think anyone who sees that video has the same reaction. It's disgusting, repulsive, outrageous. It's scary that some student could violently

assault a teacher like that. And boy, you sit there and you watch this video and the teacher knows it's coming and she sits there and takes, and this isn't just a slap. I mean, this is a violent, these violently strikes her not once but twice. And it's just outrageous. Something's got to be done. She gets slapped twice. move, doesn't fight back. By the way, just before we even get into more details, if she would have defended herself physically, would she have gotten in trouble, you think? No, they're clearly self-defense. But here's the problem is you're in that situation. You know, it's a female teacher and a male student. Is she going to be able to defend herself?

Is it going to escalate? Is her injury going to be worse? Is the student going to start punching her? I mean, boy, for her to sit there and control herself like that, wow. I mean, good for her, but what a horrible situation. I was also surprised. by the students' reactions. Look, you could say they might have been in shock. They didn't know what to do. But you heard this giggling. You heard you see one person videotaping. It was kind of disturbing to say the scene nonetheless. All right. But I do want to start with this first alleged incident from May 2023 with the substitute teacher. And then we'll work our way to the current incident. What I'm not clear about is if this student did this, how was he even allowed to remain in school? Right. Impossible. I mean, let's let's say, if a teacher had put their hands on a student and physically assaulted a student, a teacher is going to be disciplined, probably suspended, you know, and if happens again, they're going to, they're going to be fired. But for the student to do it to the teacher and apparently nothing happened,

maybe he got a warning. Yeah, they said another course of action was taken, according to the substitute teacher. I don't know what that means. What does it? Well, to me, to me, to me, you know, having dealt with school districts for my entire career, that means, you know, he got a slap on the wrist. don't do that again or you're going to be in trouble. So really, really nothing was done.

And it certainly did not deter him. Look what he did a year later. The fact that the DA chose not to comment on whether this student attacked other teachers, does that tell you something? You know, here's the problem. When you're dealing with minors and minors have this right to privacy, and you can get in trouble for revealing things about minors. And that's the problem sometimes is that the prosecutors can't divules.

all the information they have about a minor. You know, juvenile court is highly confidential. Things that happen there, sentences in juvenile court, we may never hear about it because it's so confidential. Well, that's what I wanted to go to. Now, what are the legal consequences for this student for allegedly hitting this teacher that we saw in the video? As I mentioned, the juvenile justice issued a secure custody order for one count of communicating

threats, two counts of assault. My understanding, these are all misdemeanors. and according to the DA, because these are misdemeanors, they can't try this student as an adult, so it appears this will remain in the juvenile court system. What could this student be looking at, A, if the student, I don't know, is there a plea? Is it, does it go to trial? Would he be convicted? I mean, what are we looking at as potential consequences here?

It's very similar to a normal court, but it's confidential, and it's a bit more informal. And so this student could ultimately enter a plea of guilty to the misdemeanors and go to juvenile hall for maybe some months or maybe a year. He could get off. They could, you know, he could enter a plea and they could put him on a work program or home detention, something like that. They have all sorts of solutions that it can do for this student. But look, I think they look at this and they know they've got to take a hard line with him. I think he's got to serve some time in Juvie Hall. Well, let me, I looked at some of the potential options in North Carolina and correct me from him,

but they could put him on probation, which is an option for delinquent juveniles. It would require him to be supervised by a juvenile court counselor, follow specific terms and conditions. There could be protective supervision. These are for undisciplined juveniles. Again, there has to be some sort of supervision. There can be secure custody. They place him in a locked facility, a detention. center. There's a youth development center. It's a secure residential facility, provides treatment,

education, rehab services. Do any of those options sound like something that should come out here? Look, all of those options are on the table and the juvenile court's going to have this broad discretion to decide which one is appropriate for this student. You and I and everyone else watching the video, not knowing anything else about the circumstances of this student or what else happened behind the scenes, you should go to a juvenile detention center for a while and serve time. Yeah. Let me ask you about these other consequences. As I mentioned, the superintendent mentioned considering something other than legal consequences, potentially expulsion. Is that something that would be warranted here? How does that work in terms of a student being expelled? Do they go to

another school? Can they get into another school? How does it work in terms of expelled students? Well, I can't imagine the student not being expelled from this school. And so what happens is the student is entitled to have a hearing, an expulsion hearing, and he and his parents or guardians can present evidence as to why he should not be expelled from the school. And obviously the school puts on evidence why he should be expelled, and someone makes a decision on that. I think it's a no-brainer here that he gets expelled from this school. And where does he go from there? He can go to some alternative type of high school. He can go to, he could be homeschooled. There's other options for him. He certainly has to finish school, but he's not going to return to this school. Would he have difficulty getting into another school, you think? Boy, I'll tell you what.

Look, he's entitled to an education. Right. Every student's entitled to an education. The problem is when they've committed a violent act like this, you're putting other teachers and staff and students at risk. So wherever he is placed, it has got to be a place where they know what they're dealing with and what his past actions are. And it's got to be some sort of institution that's keeping a very, very close eye on him.

Do you think more school resource officers, as we were talking about before, that's the answer. Could that help the situation? But of course, there's an issue of funding and resources in order to make that happen. But do you think more school resource officers are the answer? I think schools would always welcome the opportunity to have more school resource officers there or security people there. You know, the problem is, one, the cost, and two, are you going to put one at every single classroom? I mean, that's never going to happen because of the cost.

And so, you know, these schools, they can have obviously hundreds, up to thousands of students, you know, many, many classrooms. And so how do you monitor that at all times? It's very difficult. I think going back to what you and I were talking about earlier, the solution is, hey, when there's an incident, like this first incident we talked about with this student, they've got to take really hard, decisive action. They can't just say, hey, it's a slap on the wrist, and then it leads to another issue like this. And so schools are always in need of resources and funding and anything they can do to protect staff, teachers, students. Everyone's all for it. Which brings me to my final question, does the school face any liability from this teacher to sue the school for what happened to her?

I mean, you talked about if there was this prior incident and it was just a slap on the wrist. He was in that courtroom. He was in that classroom. He allegedly did this. Does the school face legal liability? Could she sue them? Potentially she could. Absolutely.

I mean, this school is, they were what we call on notice. They had knowledge that this student was physically assaultive to another teacher. We don't know what action they took, but assuming they did nothing or next to nothing and did not warn other teachers that this student had done this, sure, she could have a claim against the school for that violent assault and any injuries or emotional distress she's experiencing from that. Hey, if it was, I could definitely see this teacher. Kudos to her for coming back to school the next day, right? That's amazing. Amazing. I could see a lot of teachers who are like, okay, I'm done.

I am not putting myself in this environment. And by doing that, she's losing her job, her benefits, and all sorts of financial benefits she's entitled to, and that can lead to a lawsuit. Listen, I give her credit. First of all, I hope she's okay. second of all I give her credit for not escalating the situation further I mean we talked about whether she'd be in her rights to defend herself but she just remained calm despite that happening to her and going but coming back the next day my gosh sometimes we don't acknowledge our teachers as enough as much as we really should because it's sometimes a thankless job it's a tough job they you know they don't get paid enough they don't get enough recognition but this is just an example of this is not something that they should be going into this is not the environment that they should be expecting that they could be attacked.

Really sad situation. But David Ring, thanks for coming on, talking to us about it. Always appreciate and good seeing you. All right. Thank you, Jesse. All right, everybody.

That's all we have for you here on Sidebar. Thank you so much. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. all episodes of this law and crime series. Add free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery

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